Eden Valley Enterprises -- Ohio History Programs

OHIO HISTORY PROGRAMS

A Lightning-fast Look At Lorain County: from 1822 - 2022 Lorain County has had quite a history! From alligators in a fountain to giant bald eagle nests to bicycle seats and chewing gum -- its history has been filled with fun facts, trivial tidbits and surprising stories! Hear some of tales in this fast-paced storytelling program. (Barbara Sommers from the Lorain County Retired Teachers group described the performance on September 19, 2024, "The program was entertaining and provided our memebers with historical information about Lorain C. It was wonderful from beginning to end.")

Canal Songs And Stories: take a voyage back in time! This program provides vivid insight to the canal period. Enjoy the stories and listen to the songs that will take you back to this overlooked period in Ohio history.

Classic Clevelanders And Cleveland Faces and Places: discover some of Cleveland's characters including Langston Hughes, Margaret Bourke-White, and, of course, Moses Cleaveland and visit some of its more interesting places. Companion book available. Hear a story about Langston Hughes. Read a story about Moses Cleaveland.

Cleveland Sings!: celebrate the musical heritage of Cleveland with the songs of area composers and writers including Henry Mancini, Rudolf Friml and Langston Hughes.

Dante Lavelli: He Just Wanted To Play Ball!: Hear the story of this Cleveland Browns Hall-Of-Famer whose career took him from Hudson Hudson High School Explorers team where he was known as the "never-say-never quarterback" to the NFL where he earned the nickname, Gluefingers. (Barb Piscopo, Executive Director of the Lorain Historical Society e-mailed after the presentation on May 14 that "As always -- it was fabulous!" ) Read more about him in Marc Bona's book, HIDDEN HISTORY OF CLEVELAND SPORTS

From Ohio To Broadway: discover why Ohio writers and composers have been lighting up Broadway with their songs and stories ever since there was a "Broadway"!

Grandma Gatewood: Ohio's Legendary Hiker: Meet Emma Gatewood who was the first woman to solo thu-hike the Appalachian Trail -- and she did it in 1955 when she was 67 years old and had already raised 11 children! Find out what they're saying about this program. Companion book available. Hear an excerpt from our storytelling program about Emma.This program is also available as a one-act play called "Emma Gatewood: Are You Out Of Your Bloomin' Mind?! (An Appalachian Tale)". Her story continues in the Emmy-nominated documentary, Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story. Complete information about the Grandma Gatewood Project

Madam President: The Story Of Victoria Woodhull: Ohioan Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to speak before Congress, she had her sister were the first women stockbrokers on Wall Street and she was the FIRST WOMAN to run for President in 1872. Hear her remarkable story! (Companion Book Available) Also available, a documentary, Victoria Woodhull: Shattering Glass Ceilings. The film highlights Victoria's political actities with additional perspectives from historians on suffrage, women's history and the background of the era.

Meet Margaret Bourke-White: photographer Margaret Bourke-White remembers W.W. II.

Next Stop, Freedom!: take a trip on the Underground Railroad with these exciting stories of the Ohioans who were involved in this dramatic time in our country's history. Companion book available and See a video of Next Stop, Freedom!

Ohio Sings! Music and narration from Ohio writers and composers.

Ohio Ghost Stories: find out why the Victoria Theatre in Dayton is haunted, feel chills run up your spine at the Franklin Castle, plus other haunting stories. Companion book available. Read the story of the explosion of Cygnet, Ohio or Sandusky's Cholera Cemetery. Read about the program presented at Avon Library on October 27, 2104.

Remarkable Ohioans And Ohio Faces and Places: find out why Victoria Woodhull, Alta Weiss, and Clarence Darrow are Remarkable Ohioans and visit some of Ohio's more interesting places. Companion book available.

Stories From A Christmas Past: celebrate Cleveland's first Christmas tree, join in the Kingsbury family's reunion, and enjoy other tales from Ohio's past holidays. Companion book and Christmas Cards available.

Tales Of The Western Reserve: take sides in Cleveland's Battle of the Bridges, enjoy a humorous tall tale about Ohio roads, among other adventures. Companion book available.

A Tour Of Cleveland Restaurants In 30 Minutes -- More Or Less! Based on EVE Artistic Director Bette Lou Higgins' book, "Lost Restaurants of Downtown Cleveland" you'll travel back in time to visit these lost eateries to sample the food and atmosphere of these popular places during their heyday.

Whose Idea Was That? Did you know that Ohio inventors have given us such important items in our life like traffic signals, astronaut suits, saran wrap and Life Savers Candy? Learn about these and other Ohio inventors in this one act play by Bette Lou Higgins. (also available as a storytelling program.) Companion Study Guide available.

You Can't Play Ball In A Skirt! Alta Weiss put herself through medical school playing professional baseball on a men's team in the early 1900s! Companion book available.**EVE is looking for information about any Ohio women who played baseball during WW II. Do YOU have any information for us?

All storytelling programs are researched, scripted Reader's Theatre presentations.

Interested in local history?

Find more books related to our programs and learn more about it.

Check out Vermilion Views by Rich Tarrant for Vermilion, Ohio history or That Woman's Weblog by Loraine Ritchey for history and arts information on Lorain County, Ohio.

Vote!
DID YOU KNOW -- Victoria Woodhull ran for president of the U.S. BEFORE women even had the right to VOTE!?