Business

P Ross Berry

P Ross Berry

Throughout the history of Youngstown, African Americans have owned and operated business ventures.  Among the earliest was P Ross Berry.  Berry, born in New Castle in 1835, arrived in Youngstown in 1861 at the age of 26.  Along with another African American bricklayer, Lemuel Stewart, Berry built much of the architecture of the city.  Some of the buildings on which Berry worked include the original Rayen School, the second Saint Columba sanctuary, the Youngstown Opera House, the Park Hotel, Howell’s Building, the Tod House Hotel, the 1876 Court House, the 1866 jail on Hazel Street, the Dollar Bank Building, the Homer Hamilton and Company Foundry, as among other homes, schools, churches, and government buildings.  Berry’s family achieved much as well; his son’s all learned bricklaying and the family would be a force in establishing Saint Augustine Episcopal Church, which was designated a state historical site in July 2008.

W James Cobbin and family

W James Cobbin and family

W James Cobbin has distinguished himself in more ways than one.  After graduating from North High in 1953, he went to Allen University in South Carolina on a Baseball scholarship.  Cobbin was soon signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league team.  This did not last long however, due to the racial discrimination Cobbin faced in spring training in Georgia, so when he was given an offer from the manager of the Black Yankees to play in the Negro League, he accepted. Cobbin played in the Negro League from 1956 to 1958, at which time Cobbin was inducted by the armed forces.  Cobbin played in the USAREUR Baseball League in Europe in 1958 and 1959; Cobbin was on the team which won the 1959 USAREUR World Series, the CCA Scorpions.  After his baseball career, Cobbin returned to Youngstown to pursue a career in accounting, with the ultimate goal of owning a business.  Cobbin opened Ivy Supply, Inc in 1968, an office furniture and supply company.  After a few years Cobbin switched his focus to the travel industry and eventually started CCS Trans, Inc. Today, Cobbin is owner of CCS Trans, Inc. and the W J Cobbin Office Tower on Fifth Avenue.  More about Cobbin’s career in the Negro League can be read in The Negro Leagues Revisitied: Conversations with 66 More Baseball Heroes.

Information about W James Cobbin in the Delta Heritage Project includes:

Edna Delores and Houston Howard Pincham

Edna Delores and Houston Howard Pincham

Houston Howard and Edna Delores Pincham founded the HH Pincham Moving Company in 1960.  In addition to successfully running their business for nearly fifty years, the Pincham’s have been involved in community service as well.  Houston is involved with various community improvement groups and has served as Vice President of the Mahoning Commons.  Edna is the founder of a non-profit agency to help students pass state proficiency exams called the Pincham Initiative Resource Center.  She has also served as administrative assistant to Mayor Pat Ungaro and was a member of the Youngstown Board of Education, among participation in numerous othe groups.  Edna is also the founder of a business called Pincham Consulting Services, which deals in strategic planning for businesses and other organizations.

Information about the Pinchams in the Delta Heritage Collection includes:

Renee Gathright Trussell was born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1904.  She began the first African American owned school of cosmetology in Youngstown in 1955.  Trussell provided many scholarships to help young cosmetologists attended her school, finally retiring in 1975.  She was active in community service throughout her life and was honored on her birthday in 1969 by the city when the mayor proclaimed a Renee Trussell Day in Youngstown.

Information about Renee Gathright Trussell in the Delta Heritage Project includes:

Herb Washington

Herb Washington

Herb Washington is another professional athlete who has found great success as an entrepreneur in Youngstown.  Washington participated in athletics while studying for his BA in Education from Michigan State University, achieving All American status four times in Track and Field and making world records in 50 and 60 yeard sprints.  He was also involved in student politics, staging a protest at a Michigan State vs. Minnesota State basketball game in protest of the lack of African American officials and faculty members in the big ten.  After college, Washington played professional Baseball for the Oakland Athletics from 1974 to 1975.  He would later come to Youngstown and acquire many local McDonald’s franchises, and then the Steelhounds hockey team.  His interest in political and civic activity has not waned; Washington has served on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and is a member of the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce, the Forum Health Board, and the Big Ten Council Advisory Board.

Information about Herb Washington in the Delta Heritage Project includes:

JB Williams

JB Williams

JB Williams was born in South Carolina and came to Youngstown in his infancy.  Williams graduated from the Rayen School and served in the Army from 1943 to 1946, during which time he learned about mechanical drawing.  Wanting to start his own business, Williams chose to go into tailoring and entered tailoring school in New York City.  He earned degrees from The Stravbenmuller, The Empire, and the American Gentleman Sartorial Art School, and then taught tailoring for four years while operating a tailoring shop in Brooklyn.  Williams returned to Youngstown in 1955, establishing JB Williams Tailor on East Federal Street.

Photograph of McCullough Williams

McCullough Williams

McCullough Williams, Jr was born in Youngstown, Ohio on November 27th, 1927.  His parents had migrated north before he was born, and his father was the first African American parking lot owner in Youngstown.  In his youth he worked in his father’s parking lots, parking cars as a full-time job at the age of 13.  Williams possessed an athletic prowess in his youth, leading Youngstown South to two city championships as quarterback and was also freshman quarterback when he attended Ohio State. He graduated from Cleveland College of Mortuary Science in 1950 and opened the McCullough Williams Funeral Home on January 27th, 1952.  Williams was inspired to become active in the Civil Rights movement after meeting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cleveland on August 8th, 1956.  Williams, speaking at the first Conference for African and African American Dialogue on September 20th, 2003 at YSU, remarked ”I was so impressed that I was determined to come back to Youngstown and make a difference.”  In 1957, Williams became the first black Democrat to be elected 3rd Ward Councilman; his proudest accomplishment as Councilman was in getting Jesse Carter hired as Youngstown’s first black firefighter.  He continued to break racial barriers, becoming the first black president of the Youngstown Board of Education, the first black boardmember of the North Side Kiwanis Club, and the first black director of the Youngstown Automobile Club.  Williams was also involved with the Park and Recreation Commission, Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the board of the Neighborhood Centers group.

Information about McCullough Williams, Jr in the Delta Heritage Project includes:

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