Staff photo / Ashley Fox
Struthers native Eric Ryan began his foray into the entertainment business when he opened South Bridge Billiards in Struthers in the late 1990s. Now he owns JAC Management, which oversees the Covelli Centre in Youngstown and Packard Music Hall in Warren.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of a series of Saturday profiles of area residents and their stories. To suggest a profile, contact features editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or metro editor Marly Kosinski at mkosinski@tribtoday.com.
By ASHLEY FOX
STRUTHERS For Eric Ryan, it all started with a thought.
“Honey, I have an idea. I want to open a pool hall,” he recalled telling his wife, April, in the 1990s.
Showing the varieties of World War I helmets in the War Vet Museum collection is volunteer Joe Conroy Jr., who spends time learning about each artifact.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of a series of Saturday profiles of area residents and their stories. To suggest a profile, contact features editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or metro editot Marly Kosinski at mkosinski@tribtoday.com
CANFIELD Joe Conroy Jr.’s passion for American history stems from years of study in school and at the War Vet Museum, where he volunteers.
Conroy, 19, son of Joe and Mimi Conroy of Canfield, is a 2020 graduate of Canfield High School, receiving his diploma in a pandemic graduation earlier this year. Now that he is out of school, he works at Marc’s in Austintown, continues to volunteer at the War Vet Museum and takes part in World War II historical re-enactments. It was at the museum Conroy gained his passion for history at a young age.
avugrincic@tribtoday.com
Submitted photo
At age 100, Irene Was of Warren is still painting and drawing. She also speaks conversational Polish and Spanish.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of a series of Saturday profiles of area residents and their stories. To suggest a profile, contact features editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or metro editor Marly Kosinski at mkosinski@tribtoday.com.
WARREN For Irene G. Was’ 100th birthday last week, she was gifted a bouquet of 100 roses.
A friend joked that if she sketched one rose per day for 100 days, she’d have the bouquet drawn in no time. After all, flowers are the subject of many of Was’ paintings and drawings.