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Here in the Mahoning Valley, the inaugural Earth Day was celebrated as students assembled against pollution. Students at South Range School in North Lima traveled to school on bikes and horses to emphasize their concern for the impact of car pollution. A few students walked more than 10 miles, setting out around 4 am to get to school on time. Schools around the Valley held assemblies, lecture, films, and dramatizations which highlighted the important environmental movement. Activities at Youngstown State University was sponsored by the SOS, Society Opposed to Smog.
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Students at Woodrow Wilson High School marked the day by taking part in the ceremonial burying of a “dead motor”. Lew Nuzzie, president of the Student Council, worse a gas mask as he dug into the ground with a shovel to bury the “dirty, smog-emitting, internal combustion engine”. Volney Rogers students picked up more than 300 shopping bags full of trash on Youngstown’s West Side. Liberty High School students did the same, walking to school and picking up litter along the way.
Students at Woodrow Wilson High School marked the day by taking part in the ceremonial burying of a “dead motor”. Lew Nuzzie, president of the Student Council, worse a gas mask as he dug into the ground with a shovel to bury the “dirty, smog-emitting, internal combustion engine”. Volney Rogers students picked up more than 300 shopping bags full of trash on Youngstown’s West Side. Liberty High School students did the same, walking to school and picking up litter along the way.
1971 celebration was similar at local schools. About 250 students at Jackson-Milton High School took part in the festivities. Some students rode bicycles to protest car pollution while others handed out ecology pamphlets to drivers along Route 18. There was also a mock funeral which saw the students bury a “casket” full of trash.
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By 1980, Earth Day was quite controversial in the Mahoning Valley. Many claimed that tougher restrictions on industrial pollution would cause a nearly total collapse of Ohio’s industrial complex. This feeling was so prevalent that the word “environmentalist” became tainted in Ohio. At the time, Ohio was the only state without a federal approved clean-air plan. The Vindicator reported on April 22, 1980, “in Youngstown, what is left of the environmental movement couldn’t put together a local Earth Day celebration.”
By the 1990s, Earth Day was a global event with more than 200 million people in 141 countries observing its meaning. In 1995, President Bill Clinton awarded Senator Nelson the President Medal of Freedom for his role as the event’s founder. As the new millennium approached, Earth Day continued to grow across the world.
In 2001, the Ford Nature Center at Mill Creek MetroParks hosted a series of events to mark the day. Several area organizations took part in cleanups and recycling drives, including the Austintown Park and the Warren Presbyterian Church. This trend continued through the decade with the Mahoning County Reuse & Recycle Division, better known as the Green Team, taking the lead in hosting large community-based recycling events.
In 2010, the Green Team, Southern Park Mall, and Farmers National Bank worked together to host a “Green Idol” singing contest. Students performed 18 songs, some of which the students wrote themselves. Mariah Cashbaugh, then a third-grader at Hilltop Elementary School in Canfield, took first place in her division with her song, “Going Green.” Emma Worsencroft, Lindsey Billet and Jenna Vivo, all fourth-graders at West Boulevard School in Boardman, took first place in the fan favorite category, singing “We Can Change the World.”
Over the last 10 years, communities have come together to plant trees, marking both Earth Day and Arbor Day, which tends to fall within a few days of Earth Day. Local schools continued to stay at the forefront of the movement with assemblies, activities, recycling drives, yard sales, and working with area organizations to bring environmental leaders into the classroom.
Students from the St. Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary Science Club worked with the Green Team to present the Dr. Seuss story, “The Lorax.” Students at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center created the Trash Bash, a fashion show with students where all of the clothing was made out of recycled materials.
Earth Day 2020 will likely look quite a bit different as students are at home and large public gatherings are restricted. How do you plan the mark the day?
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Special to The Vindicator | published: May 12, 2011, photographer unknown
To mark Earth Day and Arbor Day, three dogwood trees were planted near the Paul Pogany Pavilion in Austintown Township Park. Celebrating our planet and working together to complete the down-to-earth project were, from left, Samantha, Jim and Nathan, from No Limits and Ginnetti Center, alternative day habilitation programs offered by Turning Point Residential Inc. The group will continue to work with Joyce Gottron, park supervisor, and her staff on more park beautification projects throughout the year
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Special to The Vindicator | published: May 9, 2019, submitted photograph
Members of Poland’s Interact Club spent time cleaning up the groups around Poland Seminary High School.
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