One of Ashtabula County's own, Archie Bell was born on March 17th, 1877, to Samuel and Sarah (Soden) Bell in Geneva, Ohio. He was known for covering drama and music for newspapers in Cleveland for 30 years, and writing books on his travels. He was a graduate of Geneva High School.
After graduation, he became secretary to B. F. Bower, of the Cleveland World Newspaper. He would rise up the ranks - from reporter to Sunday editor to editor of the newspaper.
After the merger of the paper into the Cleveland News, he continued as a drama-literary editor, and took time to serve as a publicity director for a large theatre in Cleveland. He also managed the tours for actress Ogla Nethersole and opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink.
He joined various newspapers from 1910 to 1917, including the Plain Dealer, Cleveland Leader, and Cleveland News. He was instrumental in the creation of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Bell died on January 26th, 1943 of pneumonia. His ashes are interred at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Geneva, Ohio, and many of his books and memorabilia were donated for display to the Geneva Public Library, where they remain.