Friday Video: East Liverpool

My mom grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio and most of her side of the family lived there too. She told us stories about how great it was to grow up in East Liverpool, and you can feel the town’s sense of pride, particularly when I attended the all-class reunion in 1998.

However, the town’s population has decreased significantly over the years and the unemployment rate went in the other direction. The hometown of former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz only seemed to make the news because of drugs like when a there was a viral video of parents getting high while their toddler was in the car seat in the back seat.

There seems to be a bit of a revival in downtown East Liverpool as shown by this new film, "East Liverpool, Ohio: My Town."



The film is written, directed, and produced by Kelly Murphy Woodward. It's also narrated by a guy you may have heard of named Regis Philbin. (There's a Lou Holtz/Notre Dame connection there.) PBS Western Reserve is airing this on Saturday, May 9, at 5 p.m.; Saturday, May 23, at 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday, May 27, at 3 a.m.; and Thursday, May 28, at 6 p.m. Of course, you can also watch it above. For more information, please check out the PBS Western Reserve website here and here.

I worry that COVID-19 is going to hurt East Liverpool's revitalization, but hopefully the town will persevere and thrive again.