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Ohio Historical Marker to be Placed at Tyler Center
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- An Ohio historical marker will be added to downtown Youngstown Tuesday to recognize the significance of Harry Burt’s Good Humor Ice Cream Bar and the Ross Radio Co.
A dedication ceremony is planned for 5 p.m. in front of the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center on West Federal Street as part of the annual meeting of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
The marker is intended to remind visitors and passers-by of the significance of the landmark building that has become the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center, said executive director Bill Lawson.
From 1922 to 2008, before the society announced plans to develop a regional history center at the site, the 22,400-square-foot commercial building housed two notable businesses. Harry Burt, a confectioner who invented an ice cream product that would become a national favorite in the mid-twentieth century, purchased the building in October 1921 and remodeled it to realize his vision for creating high quality factory, retail store, restaurant and assembly spaces under one roof, thereby promoting his name and his products, Lawson explained.
James Ross bought it in 1935 to house his electronics distribution company that expanded to meet the growing demand for radio and then television equipment and technology. It briefly provided a local shipping point for a national network of clandestine gun smugglers determined to aid the cause of Jewish settlers and refugees in Palestine during the that led up to the declaration of the new state of Israel in 1948.
The historical society researched the marker with financial support from the Ohio Markers Grant Program and the James & Edith Ross Foundation.
The historical marker program, administered by the Ohio Historical Society, enables Ohioans to commemorate and celebrate local history and to learn more about the state. The markers, designed to be highly visible and permanent, are large cast-aluminum signs that offer thumbnail accounts of aspects of the history of the Buckeye State. Markers were awarded based on criteria that include historical significance, geographic diversity and historical periods.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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