History Specialties

There were at least six companies that produced bicycles and parts in Shelby, Ohio from 1891 to 1953. Christina has extensively researched them all and is in the process of writing a pocket guide for collectors of the highly sought-after bicycles. She is also the official historian for Shelby Bicycle Days and has compiled history for nearly two dozen window clings that are displayed during Bicycle Days. She grew up in a house made from salvaged beams from the cycle factory!

Christina is available to present the following hour-long talks:

Shelby\’s Bicycle History – an overview of the six companies that operated bicycle factories in Shelby.

Shelby Cycles: Advertising through the Years – A look at the changes in advertising through the years, including some of the more popular bicycles and features, as well as the comic strip Bobby Shelby.

Shelby Cycle Inventors and Inventors – August Meiselbach, Luther Edgar and Leon Smith were instrumental in designing bicycle parts and machinery to produce the beloved Shelby bicycles.

To read more about the Shelby Cycle companies, view her work at shelby cyclehistory.org

Women\’s Suffrage Movement

A simple paragraph in a Trenton, New Jersey newspaper piqued Christina\’s interest in the suffrage movement in the Shelby area.

Her research yielded more than 1,000 local articles, resulting in a well-received presentation given to both the local genealogy chapter and local library.

The centennial of the women\’s suffrage movement is in 2020. Contact Christina to present to your group:

Votes for Women: The Suffrage Movement in Shelby, Ohio – Shelby boasted 50-60 women involved in the suffrage movement. The presentation chronicles three women who were instrumental in that movement – Dr. Lydia DeVillbus Shauck, Elizabeth Marvin, and Mary Rininger.

Votes for Women: The Suffrage Movement in North Central Ohio – In progress. The suffrage movement wasn\’t confined to large towns. Smaller areas like Shelby, Greenwich, Tiro and others formed equal franchise organizations to promote women\’s right to vote.

A Woman\’s Work is Never Done – Early 1900\’s Factory Work – In Progress. Women worked in many of the local factories. Learn about the types of work women did; hint, it wasn\’t all office work.

Cemetery Tours

Oakland Cemetery Tour. Learn about some of Shelby\’s notable people in guided tours. Short tour lasts about one hour and covers the front portion of the cemetery, including earliest settlers and those who built industry in Shelby. An extended tour of about two hours covers the entire cemetery, including graves that were moved from the original Wilson Cemetery and other industrialists.

Presentation fee is $50. Venue must provide projector with HDMI connection and suitable projection screen.