Dayton: Strong, scarred, surviving

Photo of Dayton Skyline just after dawn as seen from Woodland Cemetery lookout.

© 2019 Timothy R. Gaffney
I had planned to sit down Sunday morning and write my weekly blog about Dayton's brewing history.

 Instead, I awoke to the horrific news of a mass shooting in the city's historic Oregon District—the second in our country in less than 24 hours, the 250th this year alone.

 The ability to write or do anything meaningful seemed to drain out of me. Brewing history seemed irrelevant.

 Over the course of the day, I reflected on what I had learned about Dayton in looking through more than two centuries of its history, and what meaning I might draw from it.

 I had learned Dayton—and by Dayton, I mean the Dayton region—was settled and built by tough, resilient people. People who weathered incredible hardships just to get here, and more to build lives for themselves, their families and their community.

 This is the worst mass shooting of which I'm aware in Dayton's history. It will leave a scar on all of us, and on the city. But under the scar, we will heal. We will go on, as we must.

 I will go on with my book tour, beginning Wednesday at Warped Wing Brewing Co. I'll share some better pages from Dayton's history, and I hope you'll join me. Bring a copy of my book and I'll sign it, and I'll have books available for sale.
Undated photo of workers and wagons in front of Minster's Star Brewery
Undated photo of Minster Star Brewery. Courtesy Minster Historical Society.

In the meantime, my tour has grown. I've added two non-pub events: 4 p.m. Saturday, September 7, at Barnes & Noble Booksellers at the Dayton Mall, and 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Auglaize County Historical Society's annual meeting, where I'll focus on the brewing histories of Minster, New Bremen and Wapakoneta.

 Thanks to WDTN TV-2's Living Dayton for having me on to talk about my book tour last week, and for posting the segment so I could share it. And thanks to Vick Mickunas for having me on his Book Nook program on 91.3 WYSO, and featuring Dayton Beer in his Sunday column in the Dayton Daily News. 

 Copies are now available for sale at Carillon Brewing Co. in Dayton History's Carillon Historical Park as well as the park's gift shop.
Below is my updated schedule, and here's a link to an updated downloadable flyer that you can print and display.

 Wednesday Aug 7—5:00 pm
26 Wyandot St. Dayton

Thursday Aug 15—5:30 pm
417 E. Third St. Dayton

Friday Aug 23—5:30 pm
320 S. 2nd St. Miamisburg
Saturday Sep 7—4 pm
2619 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, Miami Twp.
Tuesday Sep 10—6 pm
Eudora Brewing Co.
3022 Wilmington Pike, Dayton
Wednesday Sep 18—6 pm
329 E. First St. Dayton

Saturday, Oct 5—3 pm
1000 Carillon Blvd. Dayton

Saturday, Oct 12—1 pm
8016 Marion Dr. Maria Stein

Thursday Oct 17—6 pm
109 W. North St. Springfield

 Thursday Nov. 7—7 pm
Auglaize County Historical Society
206 W. Main St., Wapakoneta
About Dayton Beer
Title: Dayton Beer: A History of Brewing in the Miami Valley
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 9781467138925
Retail price: $21.99
Format: 6x9, softcover, 192 pages
Release date: Now available
Location: Dayton, OH, USA

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