Each week, The Extraordinary Times catches up with leading folks in the local historical and cultural scene. This week, we catch up with Sam Ashworth of the Middletown [Ohio] Historical Society. Sam graduated from Miami University in 1964 with a BFA degree, and worked in the design department of Armco Steel for fifteen years. In 1979, he started his own graphic design company in Middletown and has been active with Middletown Historical Society since 1998. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of the Butler County Visitors Bureau and as a member of the Heritage Hall advisory committee in Hamilton. * How have you been keeping busy this year at Middletown Historical Society? Although our doors have been closed during the pandemic, the Middletown Historical Society has remained active collecting and archiving donations from the community, writing grants and zooming historical presentations. * What is your own connection to Middletown history? I guess age would be the answer. I grew up in Eaton, Ohio but I've been in Middletown since 1964. So I have seen and experienced a lot of history just living here. My interest in local history began when I worked at Armco in their internal marketing and advertising department designing ads and promotion material for the many company divisions. Armco was at it’s peak then and I was interested in how this large company started in this small city. From its beginning in 1900, Armco played a big part in the development of Middletown by encouraging both management and labor to get involved in the community to make it a better place to live, and that spirit of volunteerism is still very much alive here. * Netflix recently debuted Hillbilly Elegy, Ron Howard’s adaptation of J.D. Vance’s best-selling memoir [review on this blog]. What was your reaction to the film? It was hard for me to be objective about the film because I had such a strong negative reaction to the book and Vance’s description of Middletown as a place where people "couldn’t wait to leave." I described the movie to a friend as “a disjointed, but well-photographed Lifetime Movie Network film about addiction.” * You recently gave an online presentation Wheels of Fortune on the Miami Cycle & Manufacturing Co. How did this enterprise contribute to Middletown’s development, and what was its legacy? At its peak of production around 1900, the Miami Cycle & Manufacturing Co. was selling bicycles and motorcycles around the world and Middletown, Ohio was recognized worldwide. This was all before Armco started and became an international company. The Miami Cycle company was short-lived, 1895 to 1923, when the company was sold to the Miami Cabinet company which later became Miami-Carey, a leading manufacturer of bathroom cabinets for over 60 years. * Any new projects on the go? My next big project is a documentary about the history of Sorg’s Opera House in Middletown.
1 Comment
stephen canning gordon
12/3/2020 01:18:49 pm
Sam Ashworth is a Miami Valley treasure. A fine historian, designer, script writer, and just a stellar person to share a beer with. Thanks for conserving and promoting Middletown's rich history (I have some information on the Sorg I will share with you, Sam).
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AuthorMatthew Smith, PhD (History). Public Programs at Miami University Regionals. Historian of Appalachia, the Ohio Valley, & the early American republic. Archives
February 2024
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