Presenting local history on Oakwood, Ohio, and the Dayton area
Join the Oakwood Historical Society and Wright Memorial Public Library for entertainment and education. Whether you are a history buff or just interested in learning more about the place you live, the Far Hills Speaker Series has engaging stories for everyone.
Where and When?
Search the Wright Library Calendar for upcoming Far Hills Speaker Series programs.
2:00 - 3:00 PM EST
(Spring Series): Third Sunday of Feb, March, and April
(Fall Series): Third Sunday of Sept, Oct, and Nov
In person: Wright Library Community Room (seating limited to 80, first-come, first-seated)
Virtual: Live on Zoom. Registration required; Click on program to register for Zoom link.
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Missed a program?
Watch past Far Hills Speaker Series programs on the Wright Library YouTube channel.
Visit the Far Hills Speaker Series Archive page.
Browse past issues of the Far Hills Speaker Series newsletter (2021-2023).
2025 Programs
The Mound Builders in Ohio
February 16, 2025 | Presented by Mark Risley
When settlers arrived in the Ohio area, they were impressed to find large, mysterious earthworks in the shapes of mounds, enclosures and animal effigies. This program visits some of these sites, many in the Dayton region, and looks at the ancient indigenous people who built them.
Mark Risley is a retired airline aircraft dispatcher, past president of The Oakwood Historical Society, and an active volunteer for several organizations. He is a distinguished moderator at the University of Dayton Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and a contributing writer to The Oakwood Register.
Old Chillicothe and Great Council State Park
March 16, 2025 | Presented by Ryan Dimisa
Oldtown - near Xenia, Ohio - is on the former site of the Shawnee settlement called Old Chillicothe. Led by Chief Blackfish, this capital of the Shawnee people was the largest settlement in Ohio with a population of 1,000 in the late1770s. Old Chillicothe's council house is believed to have been located on a high ridge visible in the site today. In 1780, the site was abandoned when George Rogers Clark came out of Kentucky to raid Oldtown; the Shawnee set fire to the site and fled ahead of the attack.
Today, the site is home to the Great Council State Park and Interpretive Center, which honors the history of the Shawnee people in our area and gives present-day Shawnee a place to share their current and ancestral stories.
Ryan Dimisa is a naturalist at the Great Council State Park and Interpretive Center, where he educates visitors on the history of Old Chillicothe and the culture of the Shawnee people. Ryan was also an educator and interpreter at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and Sunwatch Archeological Park. He is passionate about working with Tribal communities to ensure his interpretations are accurate with current community understandings and needs.
Dayton’s Great Jazz Musicians
April 6, 2025 | Presented by Jimmy Leach
Step back to the sweet sounds of jive with many of the great jazz musicians who were born or raised in Dayton, Ohio. Featured musicians include composer Billy Strayhorn, trumpeters Snooky Young and Tim Hagans, guitarist John Scofield, trombonist Booty Wood, singers Ada Lee and Little Miss Cornshucks, saxophonist Bud Shank, tubist/bassist Gene Mayl, and banjoist Dave Greer. Samples of their music will be presented.
Jimmy Leach was raised by musicians in Oklahoma and grew up singing and playing trumpet, piano, organ, and guitar in bands, choirs, orchestras, jazz bands, and churches. He has performed at Disney World, Opryland, Aspen Music Festival, and around the world on Holland American Line ships. He has played with Johnny Mathis, Shirley Jones, T. S. Monk Jr., Mary Wilson, Bernadette Peters, and with John Williams and the Boston Symphony brass and percussion for a Red Sox game in Fenway Park. Jimmy's teaching positions include public schools and colleges in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, North Dakota, Michigan, and even Harvard University where he received three teaching awards as a teaching assistant. In 2008, Jimmy completed a DMA in trumpet performance at Boston University, where his dissertation was on the music of Louis Armstrong. Around Ohio, Jimmy has led his groups in concert at the Levitt Pavilion, Masonic Temple, Wright Memorial Library, David's Church, Dayton Art Institute, St. Paul's in Oakwood, Holy Trinity in Oxford, First Church in Middletown, and Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati. Jimmy teaches private piano, trumpet, guitar, organ, and voice at his home in Oakwood. Listen to his album "Jimmy Leach Sings Chet Baker" on most streaming services or YouTube