Sharon Adamek
After spending his career as a gastroenterologist, Dublin Historical Society Volunteer Mark Stechschulte turned his attention to local medical history, researching five prominent physicians who lived in Dublin between 1830 and 1964. He was thrilled when he was asked to present his findings as the first speaker in Dublin Historical Society’s Second Sunday Speaker Series – returned after a nearly 10-year hiatus – this past March.
“When you walk around Dublin, you see a lot of that history, and I have a lot of fun researching it,” Stechschulte says.
His talk was well-attended, and many guests shared stories of their own. Stechschulte says that the series is great because attendees get to learn more about their shared connection to Dublin while also talking to people with different backgrounds and interests.
After the success of his talk, Stechschulte is excited that residents will be able to learn more about Dublin and American history from this year’s lineup, including talks on the Wyandot Removal Trail and Abraham Lincoln’s life.
Series origins
Mike Jewell
In fall of 2025, a committee came together to revamp the Second Sunday Speaker Series, a free event on the second Sunday of each month that brings a historical expert to Dublin to give a talk on a specific topic. Dublin Historical Society President Mike Jewell and other volunteers thought it would help fulfill the Dublin History Museum’s mission to preserve local history and help tell the city’s story. For the first year of the series, the society scheduled three talks, not knowing what the community’s response would look like.
“At first, we thought ‘We can probably seat about 20 people, and that’s about how many people we’re going to get.’ As soon as it started out, (we were) like, ‘Uh-oh, we’re in big trouble.’ We got 50-60 people starting (to sign) up,” Jewell says.
As the series picked up traction, Jewell reached out to the Dublin Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Now, each of the events are held down the street from the museum at the library to accommodate larger crowds.
“I think this is a great partnership with the Dublin Historical Society,” says Trish Piliado, manager of the Dublin branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. “The library is able to provide the space and technology for the event, and we help market the event… In return, the Dublin Historical Society provides very knowledgeable and engaging speakers with topics that appeal to our community.”
This year’s lineup
To celebrate America 250, this year’s series talks are related to broader American history – over the next few months, many speakers will also focus on connecting national history with Dublin’s.
On Aug. 9, the series hosts Heather Miller, a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Coordinator for the Wyandotte Nation, presenting her talk titled “The Legacy and Learnings of Wyandot Removal: An intertwined history of the Wyandot and Dublin, Ohio.”
Brian Schultz
Kevin Wood as Abraham Lincoln
During Miller’s talk, the audience will learn about Native American history in Dublin and its tie to the Wyandot peoples through Kihue – a figure known to Dublin residents at the time as Bill Moose, who spent his final days in the Columbus area as the last native Wyandot. Miller will then share her process of marking the Wyandot Removal Trail.
On Sept. 13, Professional Abraham Lincoln Portrayer Kevin Wood will portray the life and history of President Lincoln through the first-person perspective in his talk, “Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom.”
“I talk about 1776, the Declaration of Independence, liberty, equality… Then I trace our nation’s history forward from that, and I mix in Lincoln’s personal story. It’s a program that fits nicely with that America 250 theme,” Wood says.
He aims to educate while also entertaining, making this event engaging for all age groups and a great fit for the Speaker Series.
“The reason I do what I do is because I believe it’s important for people to understand the nation’s history, and this is a fun and interesting way to learn about (it),” Wood says.
Along with Miller and Wood, other upcoming speakers include founder and owner of the Dublin Ghost Walk, Becky Schisler, who will present stories from 15 years of ghost walks in October, and President of the Kosciuszko Foundation Ohio Chapter, Dr. Chris Hariasz, who will talk about Polish patriot Thaddeus Kosciuszko and his connection to Dublin in November.
Connecting the community
Since the series’ return, the Historical Society has worked to build its community connections to engage new audiences – including through its partnership with Dublin City Schools.
Vice President and Secretary of the Dublin Historical Society Katie Cook, who has taught in Dublin City Schools for more than 27 years, has helped strengthen that partnership between the museum and the district.
“We’ve always had school tours to some extent, but as of two years ago, we wanted to do more. Last year, we did about seven or eight schools, and this year, we were up to about 12 schools total,” Cook says.
Visits to the museum and their other sites are now included in the district’s third-grade curriculum. Along with these programs, Cook invites her students and their families to attend the Second Sunday Speaker Series. With many students and families coming from other countries, Cook says it’s a valuable resource for them to learn more about Ohio and Dublin.
“To do a program that appeals to a 9- or 10-year-old and to a 90-year-old, that’s pretty diverse. That’s very important,” Cook says.
For long-time Dublin residents such as Stechschulte, the series also provides an opportunity to learn more about the places he walks past every day. Since retiring, he finds it very important to continue challenging himself intellectually. Conducting research and attending events such as the Speaker Series offers just that: inviting conversation, community and a deeper understanding of the people and places around us.
“You can live here, like I did, for 25 years before you even start learning any of the history of Dublin. And when you come to these talks, I think that’s what it evolves into. You hear something, and there’s so much more to learn,” Stechschulte says.
Ellie Keehn is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
