The Wolcott House Museum Guild in conjunction with the Maumee Branch of the Lucas County Public Library, 501 River Road, will present Ken Dickson discussing “Stories of the Greater Toledo Area,” on Thursday, March 21, at 10 a.m.
The speaker is known for being the author of two books about local gangsters.
The first one in 2006 was, “Nothing Personal, Just Business” won the 2007 Independent Scholar Award for Local History from Bowling Green State University.
The second book is titled, “Something for Nothing: Gambling in the Glass City 19101952.”
He is tagged as the premier historian source for crime in old Toledo.
In 2009, his research produced, “Benjamin Franklin Stickney and the Maumee Valley.” This was so well received that various excerpts from this book were published in serial form by area newspapers.
He also was a contributor to the Northwest Ohio Quarterly on the “Traditions of the Ottawa.”
In 2011 he published, “Rough Ashlar,” a compilation of the history of Masonry in the Northwest Territory and the Maumee Valley.
One of his 10 books is, “Teasingly Yours,” a 2017 synopsis of Rose La Rose (19141972), the Queen of Burlesque who owned the Esquire Theater in Toledo and resided in Point Place.
The author of two books about the Point Place community, in 2018 he dedicated his time to compile and write the history of the Toledo Yacht Club for its 100th anniversary celebration.
Mr. Dickson and his wife Bonnie are partners in all phases of researching, recording and unearthing little known history about people, places and stories in the Toledo area.
The couple enjoys walking in the Toledo parks every morning and seeing the diversity of their floral and fauna. They are longtime residents of Point Place and live in a lakeside home that was enlarged and handcrafted by Mr. Dickson.
Their children enjoyed many experiences on the water just outside of their back door.
A graduate of the University of Toledo, he is a retired math teacher and served as the mathematics department chairman at Bowsher High School where he taught for 32 years. Mrs. Dickson has been a treasurer of the Wolcott Guild for many years.
The lectures are free and open to the public. No refreshments will be served. If the weather is inclement and Maumee schools closed, the lectures are cancelled.
For further information, contact Judy Justus, guild president, at 419-874-6828. The next lecture is Thursday, March 28.
