It’s before dawn on a Saturday at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Youngstown, and the smell of red peppers hangs heavy in the air. For decades, a group of volunteers have worked here to keep a beloved tradition alive: making Brier Hill pizzas. The Brier Hill neighborhood, on the Mahoning River bank in Youngstown, was so named because it was near the location of Ohio governor David Tod’s 19th-century estate, built on a hill that was covered with thorn bushes. Situated on a rich coal seam, Brier Hill…
