‘Vintage Sylvania’ book launch party June 9
Written by Sarah Ottney | Managing Editor | sottney@toledofreepress.comA book of historical Sylvania photos will debut June 9 in what is expected to be the first in a series of books chronicling local communities.
The Sylvania branch library, 6749 Monroe St., will host the launch party for “Vintage Sylvania,” which is about 100 pages and includes captioned photos ranging from 1906 to 1990 and maps dating to the mid-1800s, said Sam Melden, project manager for the Vintage Communities book series.
“It’s not a history book, but there’s a lot of history represented and a lot of change,” said Melden of Sylvania-based Vintage Aerial.
The book is a joint project that includes content from the collections of Vintage Aerial and the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, with financial support from Lourdes College.
The launch party, which is free and open to the public, is set for 6 to 8 p.m. June 9. Light refreshments will be served, books will be available for purchase, and there will be several speakers, including Fritz Byers, president and chief executive officer of Vintage Aerial, Clyde Scoles, director of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, and Robert Helmer, president of Lourdes College.
Anyone who loves history or has ties to Sylvania will enjoy “Vintage Sylvania,” Melden said.
“If Sylvania is significant to you in some way then chances are this book will become significant to you as well,” Melden said. “If you grew up in Sylvania, remember playing in the parks, going to church, working or shopping in Sylvania, chances are you are really going to enjoy this book.”
In keeping with the spirit of the series, the $19.95 book will be sold only locally, including on Vintage Aerial’s website, at the Main Library and at several Sylvania businesses, Melden said.
Proceeds will be used to develop other books, including Waterville, tentatively planned for this fall, and Point Place, Melden said. Single photos are also available from Vintage Aerial, with proceeds from the sale of photos provided by the library benefiting the Library Legacy Foundation.
Heidi Yeager, a children’s librarian at Sylvania branch library and longtime Sylvania resident, helped identify and write captions for the photos. She said the book will offer nostalgia for area residents.
“Seeing Sylvania through time will bring back nice and positive memories of the community,” Yeager said. “Things have changed so much.”
Even lifelong residents will likely discover things they didn’t know, Yeager said.
“It jogged memories for me that I’d long forgotten or I didn’t even pay attention to,” she said. “I was surprised.”
Yeager said she hopes the book will feed anticipation for the next book in the Vintage Communities series. She also envisions “Vintage Sylvania” as the first step of a larger project and hopes it will lead to a more exhaustive history of the community.
“I hope once this takes off, that Sam and Vintage Aerial can come back and say ‘OK, we can do a bigger book with writers and actual stories from citizens and historians,’” Yeager said.
Vintage Aerial, which works to preserve the history of rural America through photo preservation, has more than 25 million photos from 41 states in its collection. Area residents can view photos on the company’s website and share memories or what they know of the property’s history.
For more information, visit www.vintageaerial.com or call Sylvania branch library at (419) 882-2089.
