Meant To Be…

What started out as a blind date, quickly blossomed into a wonderful relationship.

Alyson Bachtel and I met at:

 

 

 

 

on October 28, 2013.

This was the date my father had passed away twenty-four years before.  Our meeting turned a negative date into a positive.

On April 25, 2015 we were married at Saint Mary’s Church in Massillon.

Alyson Holland and I would like to thank Stephanie Span, Museum Volunteer/Special Events Coordinator for helping us find each other! We also want to thank the many hands that went into the successful celebration of our wedding this past weekend!

Alyson volunteers for special events here at the museum and you will see her here from time to time…

More Later…

 

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The Importance of Old Letters (Guest Blogger)

In today’s digital world, we accept the fact that communication takes place in 140 characters or less. Anything longer is reserved for blog posts (like this one), articles, books and scholarly papers. The art of writing a letter strictly as a way to tell loved ones about news, life and other important matters has fallen by the wayside.

This is what makes this cache of old letters – any cache of old letters – vitally important. These particular letters were saved by Katherine (Barber) Belden, President McKinley’s niece. She saved them in a wooden trunk that is so large it needs to be supported by two chairs.

Most of these hundreds of letters were addressed to her, although some were written to her children: Marshall, Betty and Henry III, as well as her husband, Henry Jr. They range in date from the 1890s up through the 1940s, with the majority of them falling between the years of 1900 and 1919. Unfortunately, she did not save the letters that she wrote in response, so the conversations are somewhat one-sided.

One letter in particular was written to her by her aunt, Ida McKinley. This letter is postmarked November 15, 1904, and is written on the black-bordered stationary that Ida used after her husband was assassinated in 1901. The letter contains plenty of news (also known as gossip) about mutual friends, neighbors and family members. It ends with the words: “With much love, I remain your loving aunt, Ida McKinley.” It is this type of kind words that are abbreviated today, or expressed with an emoticon or two.

Even without a letter from a “famous” relative, this collection remains interesting. Although they were written to express sentiments, they contain tiny details about life during the time period. A mention of War Bonds evokes World War I, while slow and declining sales are indicators of the Great Depression; the history contained within the letters tells numerous stories at the same time.

It may be too late to spark any interest in the old-fashioned art of letter writing, but that doesn’t mean that there are boxes of old letters in people’s basements and attics waiting to be preserved. Are there any in yours? Let us know!

Inspection…

Tags

1899, aerial view, Air Force, battle of Plattsburgh, buildings, Clinton County Historical Association and Museum, Google Maps, government land, historian, MAPS, McKinley Presidential collection, New York, Photographs, Plattsburgh, President McKinley, Vice-President Hobart

President McKinley & Vice President Hobart Inspecting the Troops 1899

While going through the photographs we have in the McKinley Presidential collection I found three that were taken in Plattsburgh, New York.  I looked at the first two photographs and determined they could have been taken almost anywhere.  The third one, above, featured full views of two buildings that President McKinley and his party passed.

Going to Google Maps, I searched for the city of Plattsburgh, NY.  The program offers an aerial view in the maps portion, and a satellite view in Google Earth. The program also offers a street view where possible.  I went to the street view and it took me to this location, or a location with buildings very similar to the buildings in the above photograph.

Next, I found and called Clinton County Historical Association and Museum where I spoke to Julie, their historian.  She told me the area where President McKinley and Vice-President Hobart were in this 1899 photograph was government land from 1814 to 1994.  The government purchased this land after the battle of Plattsburg in 1814, and the Air Force last occupied this land in 1994.  The land and the buildings that occupy it now belong to the city, and are privately owned.

More Later…