Local history author releases book series

FINDLAY — Tiffin resident J. Edward Richey worked for 40 years as a medical records specialist and director for local hospitals and was able to retire in July 2023, a month after his wife did. When the celebratory dust cleared, he wondered what he should do next. "I retired in July 2023 at 62 and my wife and I sat in the living room across from each other and we thought, 'What are we going to do in retirement?'" Richey said. He decided he wanted to travel to places of local historical interest, initially in the Tiffin, Fostoria and Seneca County areas, that he had never visited. He did not know at the time that this interest would lead him on a 3-year project to dozens of historical sites in Northwest Ohio and beyond, gathering photos and information along the way for a series of books. Richey's first speaking engagement about the series is set for this evening at 6 p.m. in the Frost Kalnow Room at the Tiffin-Seneca County Public Library, 77 Jefferson St., Tiffin. At this event he will focus on his two volumes about Tiffin and Seneca County, titled "A Photo History of Tiffin and Seneca County Ohio Volumes 1 and 2." The four other books thus far published in his series stretch his subject across Northwest Ohio and beyond, and include the Findlay-Hancock County area. "This is a nostalgic, informal look at our local history — it's not a history textbook by any stretch," he said. "The title has 'photo history' in it because every single volume is jam-packed with photos. I wanted to make it easy to read, easy to follow, and one of the things that sets this book series apart from others is that it's a photo history." Copies of the books, which Richey will be signing, will be available for purchase at the event. The program is part of the library's America 250 celebration. "It's my honor and privilege to bring this photo history book series to the people, especially in light of the America 250 semiquincentennial," he said. "It was a coincidence that they're able to come out at this time — I didn't realize it would take three years to do this." Becoming books So, how did a passion for local history become a book series extending to six volumes? In a way, it started with the photos. "I took photos at all the places I visited, starting with the Tiffin and Seneca County area. I'm something of an amateur photographer as well," he said. Upon returning from his trips, he'd put his photos and info in a document on his computer. After traveling to basically every known site of historical intrigue within Seneca County, the document grew to nearly 1,500 pages. "That's what I took to the Seneca County Museum (in Tiffin), and they told me I had to chop it up into different books," he said. He first thought he'd do a coffee table book, but a publisher told him the cost to print such a volume would be extremely expensive. So, Richey considered a more typically-sized book, "a paperback that's reasonably priced that people would be interested in," he said. And the more research he did, the more volumes he found he could fill. The project also gave Richey a chance to combine two of his passions — photography and writing. He also holds a PhD in biomedical informatics from Rutgers University and a master's degree from Tiffin University. His academic background coupled with his decades-long career in medical recordkeeping lent itself perfectly to an undertaking of this kind. The books contain dozens of photos Richey took, of historical markers, monuments and on historical tours, like that given at Fort Meigs in Perrysburg. The pages of each book are also dotted with accompanying information to elucidate the historical importance of the sites Richey photographed. He is also particularly proud of his bibliographies. After meeting with a librarian at Findlay-Hancock County Public Library who was impressed with the extent of the sources cited in the series, he said the Findlay library has plans to procure all six books for its shelves. "They are probably the most comprehensive bibliographies on local history that you're going to find," he said. "I thought if I could pass the muster of a librarian, then these are legit." What's next? Richey has started thinking about more books to research and publish, perhaps following his interests a bit farther afield from the areas he's already covered. He also looks forward to scheduling more talks about the books and his work elsewhere. "I'd love to present for anybody who's interested," he said. The books also will soon be available for purchase on his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/john.richey.33, in addition to at any upcoming speaking events.