Part 2 of our sit-down conversation with local place-maker, Amara Geffen. Be sure to listen first to Episode 8: Are You Geffen Kidding?

https://www.amarageffenstudios.com

www.newspapers.com

www.meadvilletribune.com

Part 1 of 2:

If you’re even remotely familiar with the Meadville area you’ve probably witnessed not just one or two, but multiple public art works of this local artist. Her private studio work is part of a permanent collection of the Met in New York but it is small town connection and conversation that drives this passionate maker to create both figurative and literal public art pathways. Today we host our first living legend episode featuring Amara Geffen. She makes Meadville her home while simultaneously making Meadville beautiful for all who spend time here.

https://www.amarageffenstudios.com

Considered to be the gem of our town, her facets hide stories of corruption, crime, romance, violence, the unbelievable, the remarkable and the downright charming. On today’s episode we travel through a timeline of our beloved Meadville Market House: where the legacy of making has been passed down for generations despite constant threats to turn her into a parking lot since her creation. To market to market we go!

Sources/References:

meadvilletribune.com

https://meadvillemarkethouse.org

newspapers.com

https://www.facebook.com/Tinystreasurechest/

History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1 Containing a History of the County; Its Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; Biographies; History of Pennsylvania; Statistical and Miscellaneous Matter, Et, Etc. Warner, Beers & Co, Chicago, 1885.

In this episode, we dive into the life of Clarence Frederick Underwood, a Meadville-raised artist who became one of the most celebrated illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration in early 1900s. From his parents' drug store along Chestnut Street, to the elite art academies of Paris, to his Manhattan studio, Underwood’s journey reflects the "creative-maker" spirit of Meadville that still exists today. We explore how he shaped the visual identity of 20th-century America, revolutionized advertising, and championed a more active, modern portrayal of women

Episode References: 

https://clarenceunderwoodart.com/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/runaway-wrecking-ball-goes-on-pa-rampage/

https://www.meadvilletribune.com/news/local_news/runaway-wrecking-ball-injures-three/article_cd86e1ac-0949-5bee-b163-97fbe91e3a29.html

https://www.meadvilletribune.com/archives/top-2007-story-roll-heard-round-the-world/article_070549ad-eb77-5cfa-946f-6

d717ab89577.html

Forward to Girls of Today, NYC,  1909

 Cleveland Sunday Leader - October, 1903

Erie Dispatch 1902

 On today’s episode of Meadville in the Making we look at how a boy made in Meadville grew into a reformer who then carried the lessons of our hometown with him as he helped reshape cities, immigration, and democratic life across the nation.

Ashley also really tries to make a case for the stage revival of Hello, Meadville a 1988 musical by Dr. William Holland Jr.

Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America - by Kurt Andersen

From Progressive to New Dealer: Frederic C. Howe and American Liberalism by Kenneth Miller

The Confessions of a Reformer by Frederic C Howe

 The story of one turn-of-the-century female minister  - trained right here in Meadville -  whose passion for social change, votes for women and female solidarity made her not just one half of a national powercouple but a change-maker in her own right.

References:

Miller, Kenneth. From Progressive to New Dealer: Frederic C. Howe and American Liberalism. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010. 

Newspapers.com : Marie Jenney Howe

Courtesy Meadville Lombard Theological School: 

“Fifty Years of Unity Church: The Story of the First Unitarian Church of Sioux City, Iowa.” UUA Congregational Records Collection, MLTS.US.3014.15.B003 (Iowa). 

Jenney, Marie. “Women in the Ministry.” The Meadville Portfolio, Volume 1, No 2 (September 1894): 21-23. 

Howe, Frederic C. The Confessions of a Reformer. The Kent State University Press, 1988. 

Scutts, Joanna. Hotbed: Bohemian Greenwich village and the Secret Club that Sparked Modern Feminism. Seal Press, 2022. 

Howe, Marie Jenney. An Anti-Suffrage Monologue. National Woman Suffrage                   Association, [1912]. Nineteenth Century Collections

link.gale.com%2Fapps%2Fdoc%2FAYVTNI611575865%2FN

CCO%3Fu%3Dalleg_main%26sid%3Dgale_marc. Accessed 22 Oct.2025

Original music written and recorded by Jeff Rose of Gin & Sonic studio.

How one Meadville man created a chocolate chip empire, sold it, then started all over again that very same year in the same town with the same name, setting legal precedence along the way and sparking the unionization of local female factory workers. It’s a sweet ride full of chips and dips. 

Autumn in Pennsylvania by Gertrude M. Laley courtesy of Crawford County Historical Society.

Newspapers.com Trowbridge Chocolate Chip Company, William Sherman Trowbridge

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122376890/william-sherman-trowbridge

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122376887/ellen-trowbridge

ancestry.com William S. Trowbridge, Ella McLaughlin

https://libraries.psu.edu/about/collections/sanborn-fire-insurance-maps

https://www.meadvilletribune.com/

Original music written and recorded by Jeff Rose of Gin & Sonic studio.

Meadville Distilling: Another iconic Meadville company, the makers of Meadville Rye Whiskey. If you don't know: Pennsylvanian Rye Whiskey is kind of a BIG deal both in the past and present. This is their story.

References:

Bates, Samuel P. Our County and its People.Boston: W.A.Fergusson, 1899.

Evening Echo research courtesy newspapers.com 

Fields, Laura. History of the Meadville Distilling Company. Courtesy Delaware Valley Fields Foundation. 2015.

“Meadville Illustrated 1912” Meadville…Its Past and Present: Sesquicentennial Edition of the Tribune-Republican, May 12, 1938.

“Soundoff” courtesy https://www.meadvilletribune.com 

Stewart, Anne. "Race Street Lumber Profile" Exec Dir of CCHS, 1985.

Willoughby, Malcolm F. Commander USCSR (T). Rum Wars at Sea. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1964.

“Soundoff” courtesy https://www.meadvilletribune.com

Original music written and recorded by Jeff Rose of Gin & Sonic studio.

The Spirella Corset Company: How a Meadville-created and based innovation revolutionized a physically restrictive garment industry while simultaneously empowering women in the workforce worldwide.

Research Sources:

Christie, Francis A. The Makers of the Meadville Theological School: 1844-1894. Boston: The Beacon Press, Inc, 1927.

“Former Meadville Company Sold to Connecticut Firm.” Meadville Tribune, September 20, 1960. 

Historical and Industrial Review of Meadville Pa: Portrayal of Leading Industries Educational, Financial and Commercial Interests. Meadville, Pa: Tribune Publishing Company, 1912. 

“Meadville Loses Corset Factory.” Warren Times Mirror, December 28, 1916.

“Spirella Had Fine History In This City.” Meadville…Its Past and Present: Sesquicentennial Edition of the Tribune-Republican, May 12, 1938.

https://www.meadvilletribune.com

newspapers.com

Original Music written and recorded by Jeff Rose of Gin & Sonic studio.