Press ReleaseThe Castle has scheduled its virtual Third Thursday Talk for Thursday, June 18 at 7 p.m. The virtual event is free and will feature two speakers covering different local history topics in short interactive segments. Art Smith will discuss “Photographic Reflections of Marietta’s Past” and Cyrus Moore III will present “Railroad Wildcatting in Southeastern Ohio: Marietta and Cincinnati Line.”
According to Kyle Yoho, Education Director for The Castle, “We are excited to have two accomplished speakers for our first virtual Third Thursday Talk.” Art Smith will explore how photography can shape how we imagine the past. This speaker will discuss how Marietta was fortunate to have people who visually recorded its history, along with the challenges they faced while capturing those images.” Yoho added, “By viewing a variety of historical and present-day photographs, Art will demonstrate how in some instances, the present isn’t that far removed from the past.”
The talk by Cyrus Moore III will focus on the early era of rail in the United States, the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad snaked its way across southern Ohio from Marietta to Cincinnati. The section between Marietta and Athens was the steepest and windiest. Before a new rail line along the Hocking River rendered the old section impractical in the 1870s, the railroad company worked earnestly to maintain the many stone culverts, bridges, and tunnels. After the Baltimore and Ohio abandoned the original line, Marietta citizens fought to keep the tracks in use, seeing value in the routes ability to bring minerals out of the hills and into town.
The June 18 Third Thursday Talk is free although donations will be encouraged. Zoom registration is required to sign-up for the virtual event. To register go to The Castle’s website, click on Virtual Third Thursday Talk and scroll down to the Register link.
About the Speakers:
Art Smith serves as Webmaster of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and The Marietta Times and manages a wide variety of websites for Ogden Newspapers. He has managed The News and Sentinel Half Marathon as the Logistical Director since the 2002 event and has also worked to organize runs at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. He has worked his entire career in the newspaper business and has also been a news editor, presentation editor, and photographer. Art has been an adjunct faculty member at Marietta College since 1993, and has taught several media-related courses, including Introduction to Photography, Web Design, and Digital Communication.
Cyrus Moore III, was born in Southeastern Ohio and from a young age has been fascinated with the region’s rich history. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Ohio University and earned a Master’s from Kent State University, where he studied Ohio military history. His past work includes serving as an AmeriCorps member at the Ohio History Connection, where he worked with the Ohio World War I Centennial. He is currently Director of the Baltimore Community Museum in Fairfield County.