What do you lose in a story when a building is gone? This episode focuses on the story of The Berry Hotel, a historic and well-known Black-owned business in Athens started in the 1880s by Edward and Martha Jane Berry. The Berry's attended the Albany Enterprise Academy, have deep connections to Mount Zion Baptist Church, and became incredibly successful members of their community. Their legacies and connections to the Black community in Athens and beyond are numerous. In between, we cover everything from The Underground Railroad to Ohio University's College Gateway to trace this important story and hear from the voices who know it best. This episode is part of Brian Koscho's MFA Graduate Thesis Project in Communication Media Arts in the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University. The other piece is an Immersive Historic Marker, that will allow you to see The Berry Hotel through the Invisible Ground app on your smartphone device. You can see The Berry on your device's camera screen at the location at 15 North Court Street in Athens, Ohio and hear a short audio orientation on the site from historian Ada-Woodson Adams. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate/subscribe/and review, it really does help. And you can support the show and the larger project at patreon.com/invisibleground
Music in this episode includes:
Todd Jacops - "Rain Spring"
Ummonumental - "Elephant"
The Peel - "Lucy's Song"
Weedghost - "Self-Indulgent"
disjointed mike - "reflections of a dawn meadow"
Yasmin Williams - "I Wonder (Song For Michael)"
Weedghost - "Ghost of a Weed"
Matthew J. Rolin - "Cabin"
Unmonumental - "Trail of Angels"
The Peel - "Autumn"
Powers/Rolin Duo - "Amaranth"
Matthew J. Rolin - "Depression"
Dead Winds of Summer - "(false memories)"
Special thanks: Adam Rich, Evan Shaw, Sherri Oilver, Ohio University Scripps College of Communication, and everyone who supported this project and contributed to this episode. Thank you.