Watch the Oakwood Register for additional details on these special events. If you'd like to be added to an email list for reminders, please email us at membership@oakwoodhistory.org.
The Far Hills Speaker Series is presented in conjunction with the Wright Memorial Public Library. Presentations are 2-3PM in the library's Community Room on select Sundays in the Spring and Fall. In-person attendance does not require registration. For more information or to register to attend virtually over Zoom, please visit Wright Library's page for the series. Recordings of some past talks are available here.
Register to attend virtually through Wright Library
When settlers arrived in the Ohio area, they were impressed to find large, mysterious earthworks in the shapes of mounds, enclosures, and animal effigies. This program covers some of these sites, including many in the Dayton region, and looks at the ancient indigenous people who built them.
Mark Risley is a retired airline aircraft dispatcher, past president of The Oakwood Historical Society and an active volunteer for several organizations. He is a distinguished moderator at the University of Dayton Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and a contributing writer to The Oakwood Register.
Register to attend virtually through Wright Library
Oldtown near Xenia is on the former site of a large Shawnee settlement called Old Chillicothe. The settlement of Old Town was led by Chief Blackfish and had a population of 1,000 in the late 1770’s and was the capital of the Shawnee people. Old Chillicothe's council house is believed to have been located on a high ridge visible in the site today. At the time, Old Chillicothe was the largest settlement in Ohio. In 1780, the site was abandoned as George Rogers Clark came out of Kentucky to raid Old Town. The Shawnee set fire to the site and fled ahead of the attack.
Great Council State Park, the newest state park, both honors the history of the Shawnee people in our area and gives present-day Shawnee a place to share their stories.
Ryan Dimisa is the Naturalist at Great Council State Park and Interpretive Center, where he educates visitors on the history of the Shawnee people and culture associated with the site of Old Chillicothe in the late 1770s. Ryan's work as an interpreter began before Great Council, at sites like the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and Sunwatch Archeological Park, where he has been creating educational programs and leading interpretations for more than 5 years. Ryan is passionate about working directly with Tribal communities to ensure his interpretations at Great Council State Park and Interpretive Center are accurate and up to date with current community understandings and needs.
Register to attend virtually through Wright Library
Dayton produced so many talented musicians. This lecture will focus on the great jazz musicians who were born or raised in Dayton. Featured musicians include composer Billy Strayhorn, trumpeter Snooky Young, guitarist John Scofield, trombonist Booty Wood, singer Ada Lee, singer Little Miss Cornshucks, saxophonist Bud Shank, trumpeter Tim Hagans, tubist/bassist Gene Mayl, and banjoist Dave Greer. Samples of their music will be presented.
Raised by musicians in Oklahoma, Jimmy Leach grew up singing and playing trumpet, piano, organ, and guitar in bands, choirs, orchestras, jazz bands, and churches. Jimmy has performed at Disney World, Opryland, Aspen Music Festival, and around the world on Holland American Line ships. He has played with Johnny Mathis, Shirley Jones, T. S. Monk Jr., Mary Wilson, Bernadette Peters, and with John Williams and the Boston Symphony brass and percussion for a Red Sox game in Fenway Park. Jimmy's teaching positions include public schools and colleges in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, North Dakota, Michigan, and even Harvard University where he received three teaching awards as a teaching assistant. In 2008, Jimmy completed a DMA in trumpet performance at Boston University, where his dissertation was on the music of Louis Armstrong. Around Ohio, Jimmy has led his groups in concert at the Levitt Pavilion, Masonic Temple, Wright Memorial Library, David's Church, Dayton Art Institute, St. Paul's in Oakwood, Holy Trinity in Oxford, First Church in Middletown, and Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati. Jimmy teaches private piano, trumpet, guitar, organ, and voice at his home in Oakwood. Listen to his album Jimmy Leach Sings Chet Baker on most streaming services or YouTube.
Tours of four homes with, two in the Maysfield Plat and two in the Houk Plat. Event sold out.
The 2024 election has drawn to its historic conclusion. In that spirit, the life and times of former Dayton Mayor and U.S. Congressman Edward Grimes Breen is being shared by his son, Edward Focke Breen. Breen tells the astonishing story of one man, his father, and his family who went from hardworking immigrants to wealth and political power. It is a cultural history of America from the mid -19th through the mid-20th centuries. Breen retells stories of personal interactions his father had with luminaries such as Ohio Gov. James M. Cox, aviator Amelia Earhart, Presidents Warren Harding and Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, the youngest Miss America and other interesting historical and political figures of the times. Edward G. Breen lived a storied life. Edward Focke Breen is a born storyteller and has so many fascinating historical stories to share about political life in his father’s time.
Edward Focke Breen is the author of the book “Lucky Eddie: The Life, Times and Family of Former U.S. Congressman, Edward G. Breen.” Breen is an Ohio native and schoolteacher who has spent a lifetime traveling in Europe, North Africa, and the Americas. A graduate of Capital University who has done post graduate work at Antioch University, he is married to Catherine Taylor, a writer and former magazine editor. They and their two sons live in Kettering, Ohio and spend summers at their home in coastal Maine.
This is an opportunity that our membership should not miss. Ed is a fascinating speaker and will share stories about not only his father but also other Oakwood residents from his dad's time. This will be his final presentation in the Far Hills Speaker Series.
1841 brought about the establishment of Woodland Cemetery, located on the “out-skirts of Dayton”. Since then, Woodland Cemetery has become the final resting place for many Oakwood notables including John Patterson, the Wright Brothers, Colonel Edward Deeds and many other well-known Oakwood citizens. Each of these individuals has had significant impact to our community and to the world. This presentation will highlight Oakwood notables interred in Woodland as well as provide a brief history of these individuals as we take a virtual tour of the cemetery.
David Schmidt, Phd. has a passion for the local history of our region. He grew up in Kettering and has made multiple presentations to the Oakwood Historical Society. David has also researched, developed and teaches Oakwood 101, a comprehensive history of Oakwood through the Oakwood Historical Society. David earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Geological Sciences at The Ohio State University in 2006. In 1999 and 2001, respectively, he received a B.S. and M.S. from the Department of Geological Sciences at Wright State University. Dr. Schmidt serves WSU as its Director of Undergraduate Programs in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brehm Lab. His teaching involves classes in Environmental Science and Society, Earth Systems, and Process Geomorphology.
Wright Memorial Library has posted a recording of the presentation
On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered on the decks of the USS Missouri ending World War II in the Pacific. Seventy-Nine years later, first-hand accounts of Dayton area veterans, their stories, and the impact WW II made on their lives are becoming rare. About 119,000 WW II veterans are still alive today out of approximately 16 million men and women who served during WWII. But what is more shocking is how often we are losing these WWII veterans. It is estimated that each day, 131 of the remaining WWII veterans die. As we lose World War II veterans at a strikingly rapid rate their stories become even more precious. Ken will share the firsthand accounts as told to him by Pacific Theater veterans - their stories of endurance, survival, courage, and sacrifice made in the name of our country and our freedom as they bravely served in the Pacific. Ken will share stories that might have gone undocumented but are now documented and can be shared for generations to come.
Author and Tipp City resident Ken Serey has a longstanding involvement and commitment to veterans. The child of a World War II veteran, Serey has long had an interest in war stories. While working for Visual Tech Connection, which specializes in helping people with poor vision, Serey met seniors connected to the war as he traveled for work throughout Ohio. He realized their stories deserved to be written and preserved, so when he retired, he got to work. The veterans’ stories in his book “What’s the Story?” are documented accounts and tell what it was like to be at war in the true sense. As Ken says, “It is very important to preserve these stories and to preserve this fading part of the historical record.”
Free admission and open to the public
Due to limited parking, visitors are encouraged to park on side streets, enjoy a summer's walk, or bike to the homestead.