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Mark Strecker

@markstreckerauthor.bsky.social
32 followers 10 following 255 posts

Writer of history articles, books, and travel logs. You see my work and learn a bit more about me here: www.markstrecker.com

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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 10h
I will be doing a book talk about my newest book, THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE OF OHIO, this Sat. (Oct. 10) at the Cuyahoga County Library System's Mayfield Branch. The strike, which occurred in 1877, shut parts of the country down and left Pittsburgh burning. attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/16594925
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I recently went on John Giusto's podcast the PVDcast during which we discussed the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, stories about lost treasure in Ohio, and bit about Kirkland, OH, where the Mormons once had their national headquarters. You can listen here: pvdcast.libsyn.com/episode-547-... #PVDcast
pvdcast.libsyn.com
The PVDcast: Episode 547 – History Alive! (Mark Strecker)
History is made every second of the day and we never notice. On this episode of The PVDcast, I sit down with historian and author, Mark Strecker, to discuss several of his books. These books focus on ...
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
At this Saturday's Heritage and History Expo, I will be giving a talk about the first hanging in Norwalk, OH. at the Firelands Historical Society. Please visit this Sat. to see details of when and the specific location. I look forward to seeing you! #Heritage&HistoryExpo #FirelandsHistoricalSociety
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I'll be at the North Coast Indie Book Expo this Sunday in Avon, OH from 1-5 pm at which I'll be selling my new book THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO. There'll be a ton of other authors, and we all hope you can stop by. #NorthCoastIndieBookExpo #BookExpo #AvonOH
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
On Wed., Sept. 16 you can find me at the 2026 Wadsworth Public Library Local Author Book Fair from 5pm to 8pm. It has a 1990s theme. There will be an eclectic range of genres both fiction and nonfiction. I hope to see you there! wadsworthlibrary.events.mylibrary.digital/event?id=360... #Wadsworth
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This Sat. (Sept 12) I will be at the Read Local Author Fair at Marion Public Library (OH) from 11 am to 2 pm. It's a big event with 30 authors (including myself). I hope to see you there! www.marionlibrary.org/ReadLocal #MarionPublicLibrary #ReadLocalAuthorFair #BookFair #MarkStreckerAuthor
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Just a heads up. I was informed that the Mayfield Library is unexpectedly closed this Saturday, so my book talk for THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO will be rescheduled. I'll post a few days before the event occurs. Sorry for the inconvenience. #OhioHistory #RailroadHistory #GreatRailroadStrikeOhio
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I will be doing a book talk for my newest book, THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO, at the Mayfield branch of the Cuyahoga County Library this Sat. (Sept. 5) at 11 am. I hope to see you there! attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/16645751 #GreatRailroadStrikeOH #OhioHistory #RailroadHistory #MarkStrecker
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
In addition to covering the history of Milan, OH, the Milan Museum has a impressive collections of glass art, art, and even 19th and early 20 century dolls. You can read about my visit and see more photos here: www.markstrecker.com/milan-museum... #MilanMuseum #MilanOH #OhioHistory #Dolls #Glassware
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I will be at the Ritter Public Library's Local Authors Fair 2026 this Saturday (Aug. 29) in Vermilion, OH. It's from 2 pm to 5 pm and there will be books in a variety of genres. I hope to see you there! #VermilionOH #RitterPublicLibrary #MarkStrecker #AuthorFair #LocalAuthorFair2026
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Imagine going on a horse ride that goes through the Moonville Tunnel in OH with a line of horses including an asthmatic one, and one that either periodically refused to move--a trip ending with a thunderstorm soaking the entire party. Imagine no more. My mom loved it, and that's all that matters.
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Yes, it took me far longer to go through than I'd expected. Quite interesting.
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Here is my travel log for the Medina Historical Society, at which I learned about the Giants of Seville, a couple who both stood well over 7'. You can read about it here and as well as see more photos: www.markstrecker.com/medina-histo.... #MedinaHistoricalSociety #OhioHistory #GiantsofSeville
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Although I'm not a car guy, I do enjoy looking at antique vehicles even if I don't know most makes and models. I captured these pics at the Firelands Historical Society in Norwalk, OH, before the rain started. #AntiqueCars #FirelandsHistoricalSociety
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
I will be doing a book talk for THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO at Lakewood Public Library on Wed., Aug. 19, at 7 pm. I hope to see you there! www.lakewoodpubliclibrary.org/event/the-gr... See more about the book here: www.markstrecker.com/grrs-oh.html. #LakewoodPublicLibrary #RailroadHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Here are a couple photos from my visit to the Medina Town Hall & Engine House (1878) that was build after three major fires ravaged the town. It's a one-room museum packed with all sorts of interesting things that covers the history of the City of Medina in Ohio. #MedinaOH #OhioHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I will be doing a book talk for THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO at the Berlin Heights branch of the Berlin Heights Public Library this Wed. (Aug. 12) at 6:30 pm. I hope to see you there! milanberlin.librarycalendar.com/event/author... #BerlinHeightsPublicLibrary #GreatRRStrikeOH #OhioHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Amazon is offering a $10.32 off coupon for my new book THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO! This is quite the deal! It focuses on the nearly forgotten 1877 Great RR Strike and how Ohio dealt with it. www.amazon.com/Great-Railro... #OhioHistory #RailroadHistory #History #GreatRailroadStrike1877
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Excellent work. A lovely piece.
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
It was pointed out to me that I had wrong address for the Euclid Public Library in my post about my book talk for THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO on Monday, July 27. Here is the updated version. #EuclidPublicLibraryOH #BookTalk #MarkStrecker #RailroadHistory #OhioHistory #RailroadStrike1877
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I will be at the Euclid Public Library this Monday, July 27, for my book THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO. It's the first time I'm doing a book talk in the newly remodeled main library. I hope to see you there! #EuclidPublicLibraryOH #MarkStrecker #RailroadHistory #OhioHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
He made his fortune by exploiting workers and, when necessary, hiring Pinkertons to murder them.
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
This Sunday (July 12) at 3 pm I will be on a panel called "Railroads, Steamboats, and Shipyard" at the Columbus Book Festival. Here I'll be discussing things from my new book THE GREAT RAILROAD IN OHIO, and afterward will be available to sing books. I hope to see you there! #ColumbusBookFestival
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
I will be at the Twinsburg Public LIbrary's 50 Book Challenge Author Fair tomorrow night (June 23) from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. I hope to see you there! twinsburglibrary.libcal.com/event/12437694 #TwinsburgPublicLIbrary #TwinsburgOH #AuthorsFair #MarkStrecker
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Here are some photos from my visit to the Canal Exploration Center in Valley View, OH. It's housed in a tavern built in the 1820s beside the Ohio & Eric Canal's Lock 30. #Ohio&ErieCanal #OhioHistory #CanalExplorationCenter #MarkStrecker #History #ValleyViewOhio
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I will be selling and signing my new book THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO at the Mad River & NKP Museum this Sat. for their 50th Anniversary event that goes from 10:30 am to 5 pm and includes train rides. #MadRiver&NKPMuseum #RailroadHistory #OhioHistory #MarkStrecker #50thAnniversaryCelebration
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Here are some photos my visit to Conneaut Area Historical Society at which you can see the oldest fire pump wagon (1850) in Ohio. #ConneautAreaHistoricalSociety #MarkStrecker #OhioHistory #History
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Here are some photos of my visit to Lanterman's Mill in Youngstown's Mill Creek Park. It's a working mill and cool to go through, although not cool inside. If it's a hot day, expect to sweat in the upper levels. It cools down in the lower ones. #Lanterman'sMill #YoungstownOH #OhioHistory #History
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I recently took a boat tour of Lorain, Ohio's Black River to learn about its history during which I learned the Lorain Lighthouse tilts because a Canadian freighter hit its base in 1969. You can read my travel log here: www.markstrecker.com/lorain-histo.... #BlackRiverOH #LorainOH #OhioHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I will be in the author's tent at the Book Fest Huron 2026 selling some of my books included my latest, THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE OF OHIO. I hope to see you there this Saturday (June 6)! #GreatRailroadStrike #BookFestHuron2026 #MarkStreckerAuthor #MarkStrecker
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Here are some photos from my visit to the Lorain Historical Society in Lorain, OH, at which I learned about Toni Morrison's connection to the city. You can read my travel log here: www.markstrecker.com/lorain-histo.... #LorainHistoricalSociety #ToniMorrison #OhioHistory #MarkStrecker #LorainOH
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Here are some photos of my visit to Dunham Tavern & Gardens Museum in Cleveland at which I learned the purpose of wing-backed chairs to protect you from drafts as you cozy up to the fireplace. #DunhamTavernMuseum #ClevelandHistory #OhioHistory #WesternReserveHistory #Cleveland #MarkStrecker
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
I will be doing a book talk for THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO at the Willard Memorial Library this coming Tues. (Apr. 21) at 6 PM. I hope to see you there! #WillardMemorialLibrary #BookTalk #GreatRailroadStrike77 #History #OhioHistory #MarkStreckerAuthor
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
This Saturday (April 11) I will be at the 2026 Authors' Fair at Sandusky Public Library. I will be a bit late because on that same day I'll be at the Norwalk Public Library's 2026 Authors' Fair from 11-1, and the delay is the drive time. I hope to see you there! #NorwalkPublicLibrary #MarkStrecker
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
This Saturday (April 11) I will be one of the featured author's at Norwalk Public Library's 2026 Authors' Fair. I hope to see you there. #NorwalkPublicLibrary #NorwalkOhio #AuthorsFair #OhioLibraries #MarkStrecker
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Here are some photos I took during my visit to the Hinckley Historical Society in Ohio. Hinckley Township is know far and wide for the annual arrival of the buzzards, but it's history is filled with interesting events. #OhioHistory #HinckleyHistoricalSociety #HinckleyOhio #Buzzards
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
The first train to roll down the Pennsylvania Railroad's tracks was on Sept. 1, 1849. The next year the firm hired Thomas Alexander Scott as the depot manager for Ducansville, PA. He’d later become the company’s most successful and notorious president. #RailroadHistory #history #PennsylvaniaRailroad
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
The B&O Railroad’s first trains were pulled by teams of horses. Realizing this wasn’t very efficient considering the distance to the Ohio River, the B&O switched to a steam locomotive. The first prototype it tested was the TOM THUMB in Aug. 1830. #RailroadHistory #history #History #B&ORailroad
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Thomas Young was Ohio’s governor when the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 erupted. He used a mix of diplomacy and a show of force to end the strike in Newark through which trains from both Baltimore & Ohio and Panhandle Railroads (the latter a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania) passed. #RailroadHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
I'm be doing a book talk for THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO this Sat. at the Bellevue Public Library at 1 PM. I hope to see some of you there. #BellevuePublicLibrary #GreatRailroadStrike1877 #OhioHistory #BookTalk #MarkStrecker #History
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
On the night of July 23 during the Great Railroad Strike, a mob set fire to an O&M RR bridge over Mill Creek twice. In the morning, it looted milk and market wagons heading into the city. Tramps and thieves were blamed. www.markstrecker.com/21.html#21 #RailroadHistory #GreatRRStrike #OhioHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
During the Great RR Strike of 1877, strikers on the LS&SM RR took one of the company’s trains from Collinwood, OH, to Toledo, and there got their fellow workers to strike. Unlike Collinwood, violence broke out. www.markstrecker.com/20.html#20 #RailroadHistory #GreatRRStrike #RailroadHistory #History
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
I will have a table at the Wooster Train & Toy Show selling my new book THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO. I hope to see you! #WoosterTrain&ToyShow #WoosterOH #MarkStrecker #GreatRailroadStrikeInOhio #RailroadHistory #ModelRailroads #Toys
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
When John H. Devereux, president of the CCC & I RR, caught wind that his workers planned to go on strike, he spoke to them and not only talked them out of striking, he got them to pledge to aid authorities to deal with disturbances! www.markstrecker.com/19.html#19 #RailroadHistory #OhioHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
I'm doing a book talk for THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE IN OHIO on Thurs., March 12 at 6 pm. I hope to see you there! #GreatRailroadStrike #RailroadHistory #OhioHistory #ClydePublicLibraryOhio #BookTalk #History
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
When LS&SM RR workers struck in Collinwood, OH, on July 22, 1877, they knew violence and vandalism would result in a crackdown by authorities. To prevent strikers from getting liquored up, they forced all of the town’s saloons to close. www.markstrecker.com/18.html#18 #RailroadHistory
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
One of the most dangerous things RR crews face on a freight and coal trains was the doubleheader—the doubling of cars engines run with the same number of crewmen. When the PRR implemented this in 1877, its trains went from 18 to 36 cars. www.markstrecker.com/17.html#17 #RailroadHistory #Pennsy
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
During the Great RR Strike, a gunfight between William Vandergriff and militiaman Private John Poisal broke out in Martinsburg, WV, where B&O workers had struck. Vandergrift succumbed to his wound a few days later. www.markstrecker.com/16.html#16 #RailroadHistory #GreatRailroadStrike #history
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
In protest of another 10% wage cut starting on July 16, 1877, B&O RR workers went on strike in Martinsburg, WV, the next day. Because all east-west trains passed through here, their action effectively paralyzed the B&O. www.markstrecker.com/15.html#15 #RailroadHistory #GreatStrike #history #B&ORR
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Mark Strecker @markstreckerauthor.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
In the 1870s during a severe economic depression, the B&O’s revenue shrank 62% between 1873 and 1877. Despite this, it continued to issue a 10% dividends, paying for them by cutting jobs and wages. www.markstrecker.com/14.html#14 #RailroadHistory #Baltimore&OhioRR #B&ORailroad
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