Adopted at the age of three and a half, Angie Hoschouer Berghuis reminisces about her earliest childhood memories including time spent at Shawen Acres as one of the last group of children to live at that facility; her foster parents’ home where she recalls a red tractor and a purple room; and her drive to find her biological parents as a teenager and adult. Angie will share with you the harsh realities of her childhood circumstances and how she came to find both of her biological parents.

Moderator Allan Howey presents a comprehensive survey of Gettysburg, the costliest battle of the American Civil War. This two-hour seminar examines the broader campaign leading up to the battle, the key events on each of the three days of fighting, and the immediate aftermath. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of strategic/tactical decisions, personalities, casualties, and the battle's lasting significance.

Charles Kettering was so near-sighted that he had difficulty reading; as he once remarked, “I thought a lot.” And he thought about big ideas. Hired by Dayton’s NCR in 1904, Kettering electrified the cash register, earning one of the earliest among his 186 patents. His most significant invention was the automotive self-starter, which replaced the hazardous hand-crank starter. A Dayton resident, he served as General Motors’ Vice President for Research from 1920 to 1947. During that time, he helped develop fast-drying automotive paint, high-octane gasoline, air-conditioning, the diesel locomotive, and much more. He became a national spokesman for science and technology and appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1933. His guiding belief: “Believe and act like it is impossible to fail.”

Explore the intersection of Dayton's history and the shadowy world of George Koval, the American-born Soviet spy codenamed "Delmar," who infiltrated the Manhattan Project and altered the course of the nuclear arms race. The two-hour seminar will unravels Koval’s life as a Soviet spy in Dayton, the programs that he accessed, and his escape to Russia. We will discuss his hidden motivations to commit espionage and his profound but largely covert impact on the United States' post-World War II spy hunts.

The Dayton Foundation, the region's largest community foundation, has been helping you help others locally and around the world since 1921. We will discuss how we provide unmatched services, resources, support and counsel to help individuals achieve their charitable giving goals. We'll touch on how we assist non-profits by funding important initiatives and offer our expertise to help them operate more effectively and how we're helping to build a better community by identifying important issues and bringing together people and organizations who can solve them.

Nearly every poll of presidential scholars ranks Franklin D. Roosevelt among the top five American presidents—most often in the top three. This two-hour Zoom seminar examines why FDR commands such enduring respect. The discussion begins with the idea that presidential greatness is forged through extraordinary challenges, placing Roosevelt alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln at pivotal moments in U.S. history. The first hour explores FDR’s background and the personal and political trials that prepared him to lead the nation through the Great Depression. The second hour focuses on his final two terms, as he guided the United States and its allies through World War II. The seminar concludes with a balanced assessment of Roosevelt’s achievements, limitations, and lasting legacy.

Participants will tour the Michael and Debbie Carter Center for American History at Sinclair Community College and explore Our American Journey, an immersive exhibit dedicated to telling underrepresented stories of Black history in the United States. Through artifacts, multimedia displays, and curated narratives, the Center highlights the experiences, contributions, and resilience of African Americans from the era of enslavement through the civil rights movement and beyond. This guided experience invites participants to engage with historical stories that may be unfamiliar, offering new perspectives on the nation’s past and its ongoing journey toward equity and justice.

Participants will read and discuss Right Thing, Right Now by Ryan Holiday, a thought-provoking exploration of justice as the foundation of a virtuous life. Drawing on Stoic philosophy, Holiday argues that courage, wisdom, and self-discipline begin with a commitment to doing what is right—especially when it is difficult. Through compelling stories of historical figures such as Marcus Aurelius, Florence Nightingale, Gandhi, Jimmy Carter, and Frederick Douglass, the book examines the power of integrity, honesty, and moral conviction. Each session will focus on several chapters, encouraging reflection and discussion on how these timeless principles can be applied to personal life and the challenges of the modern world.

It took over 70 years of political activism for women in the United States to obtain the legal right to vote. As one historian has noted, this was one of the longest, most successful and most radical challenges ever posed to the American system of electoral politics. How did the suffragists achieve this victory, what obstacles did they face, what have been the impacts of the female vote, and what is the current status of the women's vote? These are some of the topics to be covered in this seminar.