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Woman’s Club of Steubenville invests in future, respects past

SCHOLARSHIPS PRESENTED — The June 6 meeting of the OFWC/Woman’s Club of Steubenville included the presentation of two $1,000 scholarships with one awarded to Rachel Pergi, left, Catholic Central High School, and the other to Elexis Martin, second from left, Steubenville High School. Club officials involved in the presentation were Dr. Susanne Curn-Escobar, second from right, assistant treasurer, and Carlotta Jordan, club president.

STEUBENVILLE — The OFWC/Woman’s Club of Steubenville invested in the future and respected the past during its final meeting of the 2021-22 club year.

The award of $1,000 scholarships to two local teenagers constituted one highlight of the June 6 meeting held at Froehlich’s Classic Corner in Steubenville.

President Carlotta Jordan presided at the business meeting that followed the noon luncheon and included the award of a scholarship to Rachel Pergi of Catholic Central High School and Elexis Martin of Steubenville High School.

Pergi, daughter of Brenan and Lisa Pergi of Steubenville, will be majoring in biology at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Martin, daughter of Alexandra “Cookie” West of Steubenville, will be attending Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina to major in aerospace engineering and minor in aviation.

Pamela Bauman, right, was inducted as a new member of the OFWC/Woman’s Club of Steubenville by President Carlotta Jordan during the June 6 meeting.

The induction of Pamela Bauman as a new member into the club was conducted by Jordan who later during the meeting’s memorial service noted the deaths of two club members — Pearl “Kathy” Mills, a former president who died Dec. 26, 2021, and Sophie Spencer, recording secretary from 2018-2020, who died April 13.

Paul Zuros, executive director of Historic Fort Steuben, was the program presenter, beginning by passing around a glass container museum piece marked “Protect Our Children’s Health, Give to the Milk Fund” campaign sponsored by the Civic Department of the Steubenville Woman’s Club. Longtime member Marge Bedortha said it would have been from the 1950s.

Zuros told the group an exhibit in the Visitor Center opening June 13 would commemorate the 225th anniversary of the founding of the city of Steubenville. It’s called “Celebrate Steubenville: 225.”

While he had expected there would be a good collection of Steubenville-made objects, there really isn’t although there were quite a few craftsmen in the early 19th century after Steubenville’s founding in 1797.

Steubenville had a large collection of craftsman, according to Zuros, who referenced a book titled “The Ohio and Mississippi Navigator” as a resource for such information. The 1817 edition, for example, noted Steubenville had earthenware factories, a printing office, two gunsmiths, a coppersmith, two tinners shops, 32 carpenters, four cabinet makers, four chair makers, three hatters, three clock makers and watchmakers, one silversmith, a market house, a townhouse, several foundries, a few paper mills, a red beer brewery, a cotton mill, a nail foundry and a cigar and tobacco factory.

Paul Zuros, executive director of Historic Fort Steuben, was the guest speaker.

“So there was a lot going on,” he said, nothing there should be a collection of objects from Steubenville from that time period but they’re hard to find.

He said a website called Live Auctioneer has many Steubenville objects on it, a lot of Russell Wright pottery. In looking for more decorative art and fine art he did discover some interesting things, including a clock made in Steubenville and was made by Arundel Hill, who had a shop on Market Street.

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