Premier Bank Donates Items to Mahoning Valley Historical Society

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Mahoning Valley Historical Society has some new items to add to its collection.

Premier Bank donated a collection of 1960s copper-and-wood printing blocks and a 1963 Civil Defense sanitation kit to the historical society.

The historical society is “very happy” to receive the items, said Bill Lawson, executive director.

“They speak to the 133 year presence of Premier Bank and its predecessors – The Home Savings & Loan Company and Home Savings Bank in downtown Youngstown,” Lawson said. “Additionally, the Civil Defense sanitation kit is complete and reflects the reality of life in our community and country in the Cold War-era of the 20th century. It will join other Civil Defense artifacts already in the MVHS collection and broaden our understanding of the preparations of fallout shelters in that period in case of the unthinkable calamity of nuclear war.” 

The copper-and-wood printing blocks, estimated to be from the 1960s, were used to print illustrations in newspaper publications until the 1970s. The donated blocks include early Home Savings & Loan Co. executives and managers, plus a view of the tower at 275 W. Federal St. and a partial street map of downtown Youngstown.

The sanitation kit was furnished by the Office of Civil Defense, a former agency of the Department of Defense, during the Vietnam War. The purpose of the kit was to provide standard supplies for waste disposal in fallout shelters. The kit comes complete with an instruction sheet, two unopened boxes of supplies, a commode seat and 10 rolls of 1958 ScotTissue.

“We all play an important part in the preservation of local history,” said Josh Toot, Premier Bank’s Mahoning Valley market president. “Memorabilia from the past, like these items, help to preserve the rich history of the Mahoning Valley.

Pictured at top: From left are Bill Lawson, executive director of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society; Lou Joseph, senior vice president of Real Estate and Facilities at Premier Bank; and Jessica Trickett, collections manager at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.