Bill Briggs always had a heart for the poor
ZANESVILLE - The 1960s was a time of racial rioting throughout the U.S. and Ohio witnessed its fair share of violence. By 1966, Bill Briggs had been called to serve as director of the Northeast Inner-City Mission in Canton. From 1967 to 1969 things were pretty bad, Bill s wife, Dottie, said. The mayor at the time, Stanley Cmich had recruited Lee Anderson - a black man - to create activities to deter racial rioting in Canton. Bill was part of that effort called Operation Positive. They provided a youth recreation program and training program for low-income adults. As a consequence, Canton was spared the riots that were happening at that time.