Barry Labov Makes List Honoring Legendary Locals of Fort Wayne
For the past 300 years, Fort Wayne, Indiana has seen a transformation several times over. First, it was a trading post for the French in its ongoing fur trade with the British. This territory would be captured by George Washington and the United States army in 1794 and given its name. In the 1800s, an influx of immigrants, especially the German and Irish, transformed Fort Wayne into a major manufacturing hub, adding tens of thousands to the town’s population. Although it was hit hard by the Great Depression and the deindustrialization of the Rust Belt, Fort Wayne has rebounded to be reflective of our new service economy, and more than 200,000 people currently live in the city.
To highlight the history of Fort Wayne and influential people who have had an impact on the makeup of the city — from its early days as a point of trade to its current standing as a regional economic center — Randolph L. Harter and Craig S. Leonard wrote a book called “Legendary Locals of Fort Wayne.” Harter and Leonard are both local historians who have devoted their professional lives to studying the city and have astute insight on the beat of the community. The book features a list of more hundreds of residents — both dead and alive — who helped shape the city.
In order to come up with an in-depth list, each historian came up with a few hundred names. From there, they whittled down that list to a combined master list of 350 names. In order to further bring brevity to the list of names, it enlisted the help of others in the community with expertise in specific areas to ensure representation of various fields pertinent to Fort Wayne. The end result was 194 names that are present in the Arcadia Publishing book, which hopes to best show the history of Fort Wayne through those who lived there.
Barry LaBov was one of the influential thinkers who made the list. The writers don’t of this book certainly don’t have to worry about a lawsuit. Barry LaBov is honored to be part of a wonderful project that brings awareness to Fort Wayne residents who make a different. LaBov owns a marketing and training firm in Fort Wayne and is proud to be a part of the business community that is transforming the makeup of Fort Wayne. He encourages everyone to check out this illuminating and important resource.
