Bob and I left the very sweet Poppet and Broad Ripple, Indiana, this morning to head to Canton, Ohio, towards our next housesit in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Poppet was definitely the cat with the sweetest disposition that we have sat for and also the frailest. We had to give her medicated lotion twice a day in her ears, which she tolerated as it was always followed by a favorite treat. While deaf, she made some really cute noises to let you know she appreciated the ear scratches.
We continued on to Canton, however.
Canton, Ohio, is currently known (if it’s known at all) as the home of the National Football League Hall of Fame. That was not our destination today. Bob has been. The current cost is $50/person, and I can guarantee you that I would not have gotten that much enjoyment out of it.
Instead, Bob and I added to our count of presidential libraries (now 12) by going to the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum. President McKinley was the nation’s 25th president and was born in a small town north of Canton but lived and worked in Canton following college. He was assassinated in 1901 during his second term in office.
While we did learn some information about the president and his wife Ida, his memorial tomb and garden is impressive, it was the worst museum in terms of content and management that we have been to. It is run by the Stark County Historical Society, and the building that houses the museum (one room and a small alcove with chairs that shows a film on loop) shares space with Stark County history exhibits (multiple rooms), a planetarium, and some kind of dinosaur exhibit. We spent much less time there than we had imagined.
with information about him and his time in office.
Some fun facts about William McKinley. He was born in Niles, Ohio, in 1843 and was the 7th of 9 children. He served 4 years in the Civil War. He moved to Canton, Ohio, following law school, where he met Ida Saxton. They were married in 1871. They had 2 daughters who both died in infancy and who are entombed with their parents in the memorial near the museum.
William McKinley, a Republican, served as County Prosecutor, Congressman, and Governor of Ohio, before beating William Jennings Bryant twice for President. The explosion of the USS Maine happened during his presidency as did the Boxer Rebellion and Spanish-American War. His first Vice President died during his first term in office. His second Vice President was Theodore Roosevelt who was sworn in as President following McKinley’s death from infection related to a bullet wound. He was shot at the 1901 World’s Fair in New York by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, at point blank range.
campaigned for president
to hear his campaign speeches from his front porch
next to the library and museum
The green lawn in the center was originally designed and installed as a series of small waterfalls, but the city was unable
to maintain the pipe work and filled it in.
of William and Ida McKinley and their two infant daughters.
which has 45 stars to represent the 45 states
that were in the Union at the time of the President’s death.
We didn’t go through the Stark County historical exhibits, but we checked out the gift store, and Bob found a big head in the dinosaur exhibition.
Peckish Travels 