Meet Marylou Thompson…

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archivist, Canton, Chicago, Delta College, findyourquest, findyourwhy, History, Illinois, MAPS, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, Michigan, morethanamonument, North Canton, Nursing, ohio, Research, seekthethreads, Stark County, travel, volunteers, welcome, William McKinley

Podcast

We invite our followers to get to know Marylou Thompson, one of our Research volunteers at the Presidential Library!

Marylou taking a well deserved, but short break from her duties in the McKinley Presidential Library

Marylou was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but spent much of her childhood traveling with her family. Her father was in the service, her family moved all over the United States while she and her siblings grew up. She recalls memories of her past, particularly recalling 5th grade as being one of her favorite memories. At the time, she had moved back to Ohio and was attending St. Mary’s in Painesville, Ohio. She really enjoyed school, but also loved being able to spent lots of time with her loving grandparents. She continued to move with her family until she graduated high school and started her own career path.

After high school, she attended Central Michigan University, then attended nursing school at Delta College in Saginaw, Michigan. After graduating from nursing school, she received her Bachelor’s Degree, majoring in science and business, from the University of St. Francis in Illinois. Finally, she attended graduate school and received her MBA at the University in Chicago. During her time in school and out, she worked as a nurse for many years. She found that being a caretaker was her calling and it came naturally to her.

As a nurse, she worked primarily in the ICU department of the hospital, and she kept moving up to different roles in life. She enjoyed her work so much so that she ended up working in hospital administration for some years. She wanted to do more though, and soon moved to the long term care industry until retirement.

In 2016, she moved to North Canton to be closer to her sister. She had just retired and was looking for something to do to pass the time when she stumbled upon the McKinley National Memorial one day. She remembers walking around the parks and when she saw the monument, she had to go see what it was. After she visited the monument that day, she went to our museum and asked to become a volunteer at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum. She found something else that she loved to do and her years of being a multi-tasker and nurse gave her very valuable skills that we honor here in our library. She has volunteered with us for three years and she is an incredible asset to our team, keeping us organized and taking care of our accessions and cataloguing items.

In her spare time, she also volunteers in the library at MAPS Air museum in Green, Ohio . She loves reading various types of military books, fictional or non-fictional, and she loves to travel. She is very big on history and all about learning as much as she can from her travels and from her own experience.

One of her favorite aspects of being a volunteer here is that she is actually able to see the results of our projects and requests in a short time. Being a nurse and working in the healthcare industry, quick results weren’t easily noticed because of the varying aspects of that field, but she loves being able to see the results of hers and everyone else’s hard work. She describes her time here as not being work, it is like hanging out with friends and working together as a team. She loves what she does here and is truly a valuable resource to all who know her.

We want to thank Marylou for letting us interview her and allowing us to share her story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be apart of that too!

If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043

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Beauty Queen Discovered…

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Atlantic City, beauty contest, Canton, Canton Repository, Cleveland Avenue Merchants Association, County Recorder, Editorial Staff, Forbes, George, Gretchen Putnam, Hubert E. Dougherty, Industrial Tools Company, Inter-City Beauties Atlantic City Pageant, Irma Steele, McKinley National Memorial, Meyer’s Lake Park, Miss Canton, Pennsylvania, photograph, Putnam, secretary-treasurer, Sharon, Stark County, Sunset Hills Burial Park, Timken Mercy Hospital

Podcast 

While going through two boxes of papers and photographs left behind by Mrs. George Forbes Putnam better known to her readers as Gretchen Putnam, Editorial Staff member at The Canton Repository, I discovered a really great photograph of Gretchen in Atlantic City walking down the street with an unidentified gentleman, and a twenty something year old Irma Steele.  The questions I had were: Why are these ladies in Atlantic City, and where specifically was this photograph taken?

First I looked at what was written on the back of the photograph and guessed it said Irene Steele, but some further digging revealed it was Irma Steele.  A quick search in a database that contains the Canton Repository told the story of how Miss Irma Steele of Canton, Ohio became “Miss Canton” in 1927.

Inter-city beauties, Atlantic City Pageant, 1927

Irma was crowned “Miss Canton” and now she was in Atlantic City competing in the Inter-City Beauties Atlantic City Pageant.  The Cleveland Avenue Merchants Association sponsored the “Miss Canton” contest at Meyer’s Lake Park.

In a letter written by Gretchen Putnam that appeared in the Sunday September 11, 1927 issue of the Canton Repository we learn that “Miss Canton” Miss Steele won “Most Beautiful Girl in an Evening Gown.” She first thought of her friends back in Canton, Ohio when accepting this award.

While the McKinley National Memorial was still being constructed Miss Irma Steele was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania in 1907.  She lived most of her life in the Canton area.  Irma was working for the County Recorder at the of the beauty contest.  She went on to marry Hubert E. Dougherty who owned Industrial Tools Company of Stark County.  Irma became the secretary-treasurer of the firm.

Irma Steele Dougherty died at Timken Mercy Hospital on Tuesday March 12, 1974.  Two years later in 1976 her husband Hubert followed her to the hereafter.  They are buried in Sunset Hills Burial Park in Section 19 Row 4, close to the road.

 

“Miss Canton’s” Find-A-Grave page has been updated with photographs and more important details…

 

 

Meet Gary Erdos…

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Akron University, archivist, Canton, Detective, Discover, findyourquest, findyourwhy, Genealogy, high school, History, Hudson, Ida McKinley, Kent State University, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, morethanamonument, National Guard, ohio, Researcher, seekthethreads, Stark County, volunteers, welcome, William McKinley

Podcast

We want to welcome our followers to get to know Gary Erdos, one of our Research volunteers at the Presidential Library!

Gary grew up in Hudson, Ohio in Summit County and moved to Canton in 1970. As a child growing up in Hudson, Gary remembers going outside as soon as the sun was out and playing until dusk with other neighborhood kids. He played football, basketball, and did a little bit of wrestling growing up.

He attended Hudson Elementary and went on to Hudson High School, where he graduated in 1964. After high school, he began working in his dad’s machine shop, Norton’s Machine Company, doing managerial work in the office. To help him gain more knowledge of running the machine shop, he started to take business classes at Akron University and Kent State University.

After he started taking college classes, he enrolled in the National Guard where he would remain for the next 6 years. After his service, he continued to attend business classes until 1980, while also running his father’s shop.

In 1998, Gary sold his business and started to work at other companies as a sales representative and later on, became a sales manager for another company.

Since retiring in 2008, he enjoys hiking with his wife and their friends. He also loves spending lots of time with his 9 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

Gary began as a volunteer at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum about 4 years ago when his neighbor asked if Gary would like to cover some shifts with him. He agreed and began as a volunteer for the train exhibit. After some time, he found himself drifting to the Presidential Library and started working as a researcher in his free time. One of his favorite pastimes throughout his life was learning and exploring the genealogy of his family, and now he gets to do what he loves as a researcher here.

His role in the McKinley Presidential Library is to handle inquires about people who want to know if they are related to William McKinley or Ida Saxton-McKinley. Since the Presidential Library is also the home of the Stark County archives, he also handles inquiries about Stark County citizens.

Currently one of his ongoing projects for the library is creating a database of Stark County residents from 1809-1850.

Gary loves being a volunteer here because he finds there is always something new happening every time he comes in. He loves working with the other volunteers because they are great people to talk to and be around. There is a shared love of genealogy and history within the library and he finds it very interesting to listen to the different stories of people researching their own lineage.

He encourages more people to become volunteers, especially if they are retired. Since he himself is retired, he finds that volunteering keeps him active, involved with people, and never becoming bored with his research requests.

Gary wants people to know that although genealogy can be hard, the rewards are life-changing. As a researcher, he says that he feels like a detective when he discovers something people didn’t know about their history. Being a part of that discovery, he loves to help people find the answers to the questions they’re looking for.

We want to thank Gary for letting us interview him and allowing us to share his story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be apart of that too!

If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043

It Can’t Be Done…

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1919, America, ashes, attorney, Axle, bronze, Canton, civic, Clark, County, Courthouse, determination, Detroit, duty, funeral, George, It Can’t Be Done, Journey, July, Kenney, Kim, Library Loans, mock, ohio, parade, peace, Pessimism, plaque, speech, Spirit, Stark, The Great War, through, time, Timken, victory, War Bonds, WWI

Podcast

100 years ago on this day in 1919, the “Spirit of Pessimism” was laid to rest under a bronze plaque on the corner of the Stark County Courthouse. Today the plaque, which is known as “It Can’t Be Done” is laid outside of the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum garden on the right side of the main entrance.

Donated by the Timken Detroit Axle Company, the plaque states:

Here lies

“It Can’t Be Done”

Killed in 5th Liberty Loan

April 30, 1919

 

Buried July 4, 1919

By Liberty Loan Organization

Of Canton

May He Long Be Dead

In 1914, World War I began and by 1917, America became involved and had to come up with ways to pay for the war. This need was met by the “War Bond,” which sought to gain capital during the war. Through Liberty Loans, war bonds were made to invoke patriotism and to purchase one would often be seen as a civic duty to the country as a citizen. These bonds were not received well by the public and fear began to rise as the war continued. In the end though, the war efforts and the help of the American people proved to be successful.

This plaque was preceded by the support of World War I and the fear of many Americans who believed that money would not be raised fast enough or not at all. This was a trying time for all Americans who were suffering and in a state of despair as the war ended. However, in the end, victory broke through the negative perspective of the time. The spirit of pessimism dropped as the spirits of the people who grew in determination to knock down the naysayers of the day. Raising money for the national defense was met with the phrase, “It can’t be done!” Unafraid and full of hope, the American believers marched through the negativity to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

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From our own, Executive Director Kim Kenney’s book “Canton: A Journey Through Time,” she writes “It was said that “Can’t” was killed by the Liberty Loan Organization, murdered by a city who out sold its quota in war bonds. A mock funeral service was held in Public Square.”

The service was conducted by Attorney George H. Clark, who gave a speech that brought smiles to the people who were gathered around:

With the declaration of war, It Can’t Be Done saw the opportunity to justify for all time the existence of the doctrine of failure. We had to raise an army. It Can’t Be Done snarled at our heels. We had to raise money for national defense. It Can’t Be Done yelped discord and growled failure.

But, the people grew in thought, in spirit, in resolve, in spirituality. They wearied not of well doing. They joined shoulder to shoulder in mighty effort. They kicked out of the way the snappers and the yelpers. They chastised the big growlers and they interred the vicious and the malicious.

And so undeterred, unafraid and determined, they marched forward to glorious victory, and starved to death for lack of friends It Can’t Be Done in this community. It died, and we are met to bury it deep for all time.

It was a day of determination and the rewards of perseverance brought from the war.

It is a testament of its time and to this day, it is a symbol of determination and perseverance that withstood the negativity.

In memory of this plaque, remember these words by Attorney George H. Clark:

“In this community, “It Can’t Be Done” is dead and by these ceremonies buried.  Peace to its ashes!”