2025 Topics

• The Mound Builders in Ohio - When settlers arrived in the Dayton area, they were impressed to find large, mysterious earthworks in the shapes of mounds, enclosures and animal effigies built by ancient indigenous people. Presented by Mark Risley. (2025 February 16)
• Old Chillicothe and Great Council State Park - Oldtown near Xenia, Ohio, is on the former site of the Shawnee settlement called Old Chillicothe. Led by Chief Blackfish, this capital of the Shawnee people was the largest settlement in Ohio with a population of 1,000 in the late1770s. Old Chillicothe's council house is believed to have been located on a high ridge visible in the site today. In 1780, the site was abandoned when George Rogers Clark came out of Kentucky to raid Oldtown; the Shawnee set fire to the site and fled ahead of the attack. Today, the site is home to the Great Council State Park and Interpretive Center, which honors the history of the Shawnee people in our area and gives present-day Shawnee a place to share their current and ancestral stories. Presented by Ryan Dimisa. (2025 March 16)

• Dayton’s Great Jazz Musicians - Step back to the sweet sounds of jive with many of the great jazz musicians who were born or raised in Dayton, Ohio. Featured musicians include composer Billy Strayhorn, trumpeters Snooky Young and Tim Hagans, guitarist John Scofield, trombonist Booty Wood, singers Ada Lee and Little Miss Cornshucks, saxophonist Bud Shank, tubist/bassist Gene Mayl, and banjoist Dave Greer. Presented by Jimmy Leach (2025 April 6)

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2024 Topics

• Joe Desch: Codebreaker - (2024 January 28)
• Beyond the Playhouse: Mound Labs Mission in Space - (2024 February 18)
• The Great Flood of 1913 - (2024 March 17)
• Aullwood Audubon's Rich History - (2024 April 21)
• Victory in the Pacific: Local Veterans and their Role in WWII - (2024 September 15)
• Oakwood Notables in Woodland Cemetery - (2024 October 20)
• Lucky Eddie: The Life, Times, & Family of Dayton US Congressman Edward G. Breen - (2024 November 17)

2023 Topics

• Lincoln's Northern Nemesis - (2023 February 19)
• Classic Architecture of Oakwood - (2023 March 19)
• Gardens of Oakwood - (2023 April 16)
• Sleeper Agent: The Dayton Connection - (2023 September 17)
• Dayton Ghosts and Legends - (2023 October 15)
• What’s the Story: Dayton Veterans' WWII Stories - (2023 November 19)

2022 Topics

• Discovery & Renewal on the Huffman Prairie - (2022 February 20)
• Bletchley Park, Code Breaking, & Dayton's Role - (2022 March 20)
• Becoming a Community: The Platting of Oakwood - (2022 April 24)
• Historic Property Research Basics with Bill Stolz, Manager at Dayton Metro Library's Southeast Branch  - (2022 September 18)
• Dorothy Lane Market: A Look Back & Forward with Jerry Post, Store Director of Oakwood's DLM - (2022 October 16)
• The Future of Oakwood with Steve Byington, Vice Mayor of Oakwood - (2022 November 20)

2021 Topics

• Chocolate and Esther Price - The iconic gold foil box with the red ribbon is well known in the Dayton region, but how and where did Esther Price’s candy make its start? Presented by Jim Revelos, Quality Manager for Esther Price Candies. (2021 February 21)
• The Little Man Who Wasn’t There: In Search of Al Fouts - Join Dayton attorney and author, David Greer, to learn about Al Fouts. Described in a Dayton Daily News article as “a little man who cast a deep shadow in downtown Dayton,” Fouts was a leader of the criminal underworld. (2021 March 21)
• The Dean, Dillinger and Dayton Ohio: Legend – Lore – Legacy - Author Stephen C. Grismer will introduce gangsters and mobsters with Greater Dayton connections. (2021 April 18)
• Dayton Beer: A History of Brewing in the Miami Valley - Author Timothy R. Gaffney will talk about the history of beer brewing in the Miami Valley. (2021 September 19)
• History, Mystery, Mayhem & Murder - Angie Hoschouer is the Manager of Development and Marketing at Woodland Cemetery, Arboretum and Foundation will share stories on the darker side of life in Dayton's past. (2021 October 17)
• Oakwood's First Residents - Bill Kennedy is the Regional Coordinator for the Eastern Region of the Ohio History Connection.  As an archaeologist, Bill is also a specialist in pre-contact native peoples of Ohio and will discuss the early native settlers that once lived in the Oakwood region. (2021 November 21)

Other Topics: Oakwood & Dayton History

Inside Fifth and Ludlow: Creating a Podcast about Local History - A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Fifth and Ludlow by George Drake, Jr. - a podcast story of 1920s Dayton inspired by a mysterious letter found beneath a bathtub.

The Forgotten: Hidden Heroes - Johnnie Freeman, author of The Forgotten: Hidden Heroes (Dayton 1913 Flood), uncovers overlooked heroes of Dayton's past.

The Oakwood Street Railway - The 125th anniversary of the Oakwood Street Railway conversion from horse to electric on May 16, 1895 is the centerpiece of this interesting exploration of the history of transportation in Oakwood.

Grand Eccentrics: When Dayton Was America's Silicon Valley - Author Mark Bernstein discusses the various towering figures of Dayton history covered in his book.

The Day Lincoln Spoke in Dayton​ - Abraham Lincoln's visit to Dayton in 1859, portrayed by Jim Crabtree as Lincoln. 

Jack Egan, Dayton Lawyer - A Short History of Dayton's Dark Side from 1899 to 1936 - Prominent defense attorney for a bewildering assortment of bank robbers, bootleggers, hit men, con men, and gangsters from 1900 until his death in 1936, presented by David Greer, Esq.

Railway Transportation and the Rise of the South Dayton Suburbs - How the earliest suburban plats to the south of Dayton developed under the influence of steam and electric-powered railways. Presented by David Schmidt.

Street Names of Dayton - The men and women whose streets bear their name and how they contributed to the history of Dayton. Presented by Angie Hoschouer.

The Classic Architecture of Oakwood - Oakwood's well-preserved homes and public buildings representing the best of 20th century architecture in America. Presented by Mark W. Risley (2018)

Dayton Code Breakers - Top-secret Navy project during WWII to build a decoding machine in NCR Building 26. The success of the WAVES and Joseph Desch are covered in this remarkable story. Presented by Jim Charters. (2018)

Polonium in the Playhouse - An intriguing story of secret chemical production for the atomic bomb. The Talbot Family's "Runnymede Playhouse" in Oakwood served as a top-secret laboratory where the triggering mechanisms for the atomic bombs were developed. Presented by Linda Carrick Thomas, author of Polonium in the Playhouse. (2018)

The Russian Spy in the Dayton Manhattan Project - George Koval - American-born spy who gave secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Presented by Dr. Don Sullenger, who worked at Mound Laboratories from July 1962 until August 1992. (2018)