Columbiana author to speak about novel
By KEVIN HOWELLCOLUMBIANA- A former Columbiana veterinarian will be speaking at the Columbiana Public Library about a true crime novel he recently authored.
Thomas Crowl, whose novel "Murder of a Journalist: The Story of the Death of Donald Ring Mellett" was published in October 2009 by Kent State University Press as part of its True Crime History Series, will speak from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at the library. Registration is required for the free event and can be done by calling the library at 330-482-5509.
"Mellett's story is a really good story about a man who had a lot of courage and tried to use his newspaper to do some good, and was ultimately killed for it," Crowl said. "I'm trying, in a way, to reintroduce [Mellett] to a new generation of Ohioans."
According to Crowl, Mellett was the editor of the Canton Daily News who in 1926 ran an anti-vice, anti-corruption editorial campaign which attacked the Canton police chief at the time, S. A. Lengel. An alliance of bootleggers and corrupt police, angered at Mellett's interference, hired an ex-con to attack and scare the editor, but the intended assault spiraled out of control and Mellett was murdered.
As a result, Lengel was convicted of murder, but, following five trials, including the final one in Lisbon, was acquitted.
Crowl's book, using newspaper and magazine accounts, interviews and other primary source material, follows the investigation into the Mellett murder by a private detective who was hired by the Stark County prosecutor.
Mellett was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his editorial campaign and he is memorialized on a plaque at the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum in Canton.
A freelance writer, Crowl has had several articles published in Timeline, History Magazine and Man at Arms. "Murder of a Journalist" is his first novel.
"I've always been interested in local history, especially stories that have not been previously published," Crowl noted. "Mellett's story is a very prominent one in the Canton area and one that I found very intriguing."
Crowl said he will discuss at the program the details of the book and Mellett's story, as well as other aspects of the novel that the audience wants to address, such as getting a book published.
For information about the book visit upress.kent.edu.
Kevin Howell can be reached at khowell@salemnews.net
