Mark Price to Present “This Place, This Time” Talk at January Program

Award-winning journalist Mark J. Price pays time and tribute to the people and places whose stories, without a teller, might remain uncelebrated or hidden around corners. Price, whose career includes more than two decades reporting for The Akron Beacon Journal and Canton Repository, will share some of his favorite tales from our town on Thursday, January 13 as the featured speaker at Hudson Heritage Association’s (HHA) monthly program. All are invited to attend the free event at Barlow Community Center at 7:30 p.m.

Price says that even more than writing, he enjoys the research element of journalism. “It’s like a treasure hunt,” he says. Much of his research and writing comes to life in three books he has authored, including “The Rest is History: True Tales from Akron’s Vibrant Past” (a compilation of his popular This Place, This Time columns), “Lost Akron” (about lost landmarks of the region) and “Mafia Cop Killers in Akron” (a dive into gangster activity in the city in the early 20th century).

Price’s beloved columns for the Beacon Journal and are a delightful mix of kitsch – like the 18-foot giant snowman that used to stand in Tallmadge Circle – and compassion, like the time he tagged along for a walk down memory lane with a woman who grew up on a farm where a shopping mall sits now.

“People who support Akron and Cleveland really love it,” Price says. “Nostalgia helps us hold on to places we can’t go back to anymore, and this is important.” Price, who lives in Hinckley, applauds Hudson for its commitment to preservation and maintaining a strong sense of place.

Every town needs their historian writer, the one with an insatiable appetite to dig, connect dots, and give voice to newsmakers and normal citizens alike. The HHA is especially grateful to start the new year with a speaker who celebrates our regional past but also is focused on its bright future, which will continue to manifest itself in fascinating people and places with stories to be told.