Native American History of Stark County

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Battle of Fallen Timbers, Canton, Delaware, foraging, gathering, General Anthony Wayne, hunting, Jackson Township, Lake, Lawrence, mounds, Native American tribes, Native Americans, Nobles Pond, ohio, Paleoindian Period, Paleoindians, prehistoric, Shawnee, spear points, Stark County, stone scrapers, tools, Treaty of Greeneville, white settlers, Wyandots

Before white settlers moved to Stark County, the area was home to Native American tribes, beginning in the Paleoindian Period, which was between 13,000 B.C. and 7,000 B.C. Paleoindians were small groups that moved often depending on season and climate and relied on hunting, gathering, and foraging. They used tools made of bone, wood, and stone. Paleoindians were hunting in Ohio approximately 11,000 years ago, as evidenced by the Nobles Pond site in Jackson Township. The Paleoindians that used this site were among the first inhabitants of Ohio. Here, campsites have been discovered, as well as artifacts such as spear points and stone scrapers, both of which were characteristic tools of Paleoindians. The unique way in which the spear points were made helps to identify around what time Paleoindians were living at Nobles Pond. There have also been mounds representing later cultures located in different parts of Stark County, including Lawrence, Lake, and Canton.

After the Paleoindian Era, Stark County was sparsely inhabited by other prehistoric groups of different cultures for hunting and gathering. In the historic period, the people inhabiting Stark County were the Delaware Indians. They were pushed west from their original area near the Delaware Bay and Delaware River by the British, Dutch, Germans and other tribes in the mid- 1700s. Other Native American tribes living in Ohio around this time included the Wyandots and the Shawnee. Eventually, white settlers began to move to Stark County from places like Maryland, Virginia, and states throughout New England. Some of the earliest contacts involving Native Americans in Ohio were with French explorers and traders, English traders, scouting parties, and military campaigns.

 The contact between Native Americans and settlers was not without conflict. In 1794, General Anthony Wayne defeated a Native American force at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. This led to the negotiation of the Treaty of Greeneville in 1795. Many Native American tribes of the state, including the Wyandot and Delaware, surrendered much of their land under the treaty and had to move to western parts of Ohio. Eventually, these tribes were forced to move even further west to states such as Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

The topic of Native Americans living in Ohio includes 13,000-15,000 years of prehistory as well as over 300 years of history. The history of Native American tribes is an integral part of understanding the history of Ohio, and therefore the history of Stark County.

Nobles Pond Site

Fluted Point found at Nobles Pond

Trianguloid End Scraper found at Nobles Pond

Underground Railroad in Stark County

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abolitionists, African American, Alliance, Anson Pease, Anti-Slavery Bugle, anti-slavery convention, anti-slavery movement, Canton, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, First Women’s Rights Convention, Frederick Douglas, free, fugitive slaves, George Harsh, Haines House, hiding places, Jacob Gaskins, James Bayliss, Jonathan Ridgeway Haines, Kendal, Lisbon, Lucretia Mott, Massillon, mayor, Quakers, railroad, Roanoke, Robert Folger, Rotch family, runaway slaves, safe houses, slave emancipation, social reform, Spring Hill House, Stark County, stations, Thomas and Charity Rotch, Underground, William Lloyd Garrison, women’s rights

PODCAST

The Underground Railroad was a system of safe houses and hiding places in which white and free African American “conductors” would assist runaway slaves, or freedom seekers, from Southern slave states to freedom in Northern free states as well as Canada.

One of the most prominent Underground Railroad stops in Stark County is the Spring Hill House in Massillon. The Spring Hill house was built in 1821 and owned by Thomas and Charity Rotch, who were Quakers and abolitionists. They used their home as a stop for fugitive slaves escaping slavery to the North. Despite attempts by slave hunters, no fugitive slave was ever caught at Spring Hill. 

Spring Hill had a secret staircase that connected the basement kitchen to the servants’ quarters on the second floor. This allowed fugitive slaves to move between hiding spaces without being exposed to the main floor of the house.  Using the secret staircase, fugitive slaves could hide in the attic crawlspace. Additionally, the attic was at one time used to keep bees and make honey because The Rotch family did not want to buy sugar, which used slave labor in the Caribbean to produce.

Another stop on the Underground Railroad was the Haines House in Alliance. The house was owned by Jonathan Ridgeway Haines, a Quaker and abolitionist, and his wife Sarah. Jonathan Haines and his son John would stand guard while runaway slaves stayed in the upper story of the house.

There were several other citizens of Stark County that were involved with the Underground Railroad. Many of those who were involved used their houses as stations on the Underground Railroad. Some of these people were the lawyer Anson Pease and his family. Their home, nicknamed Roanoke, was a station on the Underground Railroad.

Some of the other people involved in the Underground Railroad were James Bayliss and George Harsh, who both used their houses as stations. There was also Jacob Gaskins, one of the first African American settlers in Stark County, and Robert Folger, the former mayor of Massillon in 1861 and from 1864 to 1866.

Another important figure was Lucretia Mott. For a short time, her parents lived in Kendal, Ohio, which is now Massillon. Lucretia fought for women’s rights and slave emancipation, and in 1847 she delivered a lecture in Massillon on social reform. She would later help organize the First Women’s Rights Convention with Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

There were many active members of the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery movement in Ohio. In an article from the Anti-Slavery Bugle of Lisbon, Ohio, citizens of Massillon proposed an anti-slavery convention. Another article from the anti-slavery bugle features plans for anti-slavery conventions in Ohio in which prominent abolitionists Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison would be in attendance.

Ohio was an important part of the Underground Railroad. In Stark County, there were several routes though cities such as Canton, Alliance, and Massillon and many prominent figures that helped on the Underground Railroad.

Meet the Interns, Hannah Beach…

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Annie Get Your Gun, Bachelor of Arts, David Warther Carvings, elementary school, fascination, gift shop sales, graduating, grant coordinator, Hannah, high school, History, McKinley Presidential Library, miniature replicas, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, musical, Northeast Ohio, passion for history, remarkable history, schematics, social media platforms, spring, Sugarcreek, teachers, Together is Better, tour guide, true story

My name is Hannah Beach. In the spring, I will be graduating with my Bachelor of Arts in History from Mount Vernon Nazarene University. I grew up in a small town called Sugarcreek in northeast Ohio where I still live with my parents and my three sisters. Since I was in elementary school, history has been a fascination for me. As a kid I participated in the high school’s production of Annie Get Your Gun and after finding out the musical was based on a true story, I knew I had to know more and quickly fell in love with history. That experience paired with a series of remarkable history teachers all through school aided in my realization that history was something that I wished to pursue as a career.

For the last five years, on weekends and over breaks, I have put my love of history to use as I worked at David Warther Carvings, a non-profit museum in Sugarcreek. There I worked as a tour guide where I guided patrons through the various rooms explaining how the antique ivory carvings had been made and more importantly, told the history of the ships whose schematics had been used to make exact, miniature replicas. In those five years I learned so much. The experience inspired a growth in my passion for history and for sharing it with others. Along with serving as a tour guide, I worked in gift shop sales, created and ran the museum’s social media platforms, and served as the grant coordinator, giving me countless skills that will be useful as I head into the work field. I will forever be grateful for the time that I spent at David Warther Carvings and for the incredible tutelage of David Warther himself. As I look towards my future and my life outside of college, I am incredibly thankful for the way my past experiences have shaped me into who I am today and am very excited to be working at the McKinley Presidential Library this spring.

Preserve Your Now: Bury A Time Capsule…

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365 Reasons, Archives, Archives Bring Good Feelings, archiving in the key of life, bestselling book, Canton, Canton Ohio, CD, find your quest, funeral, future generation, History, history nerds, McKinley Presidential Library, ohio, Preserve Your Now, President William McKinley, seek the threads, snapshot in time, Stark County, stories, Then and Now, Time Capsule, Today

365 Reasons: Today let me give you a reason to bury a time capsule. When I first met my wife when I was 19 years old, she had a neighbor lady who finally died when she was 103 years old, oh the stories she had to tell. She told me about attending President William McKinley’s funeral in Canton Ohio. I wish she had buried a time-capsule and I could dig it up today. Why not preserve your now, which will become history for a future generation. Choose carefully what you include in your capsule, you want it to accurately represent your snapshot in time. Can you imagine what your great-grandchildren might think about today’s newspaper or CD or current best selling book? Go ahead, think beyond yourself, and invest into the future.

By Art Snow, Canton Native

Meet the Intern: Hamed Alwusaydi

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Canton, Communications, Family, Intern, learn, listen, McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, ohio, passion, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Stark County, Train, volunteer, Walk with the President, Walsh University

My name is Hamed Alwusaydi. I was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I am in the final semester to graduate from my BA at Walsh University in Communications. I have always wanted to be a part of the President McKinley Museum family because of my passion for learning about the history, interest in it and its care. I am currently working as a volunteer and seeking to learn and train and listen to the advice and guidance of Mr. Mark Holland, who has always made me feel his desire to train and mentor me. I am currently working on developing the visual aspect of the Walk with the President program, and I am working on adding some important pictures to present to those looking to understand the past and those interested in it.

Meet Our Intern: Grace Doringo…

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Art History, choir, History, honors program, Intern, Library, McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, Museum Engagement Team, museum professional, Museum Studies, Walsh University

Grace Doringo is an intern at the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum for the 2020-2021 school year. She is currently a junior at Walsh University majoring in Museum Studies and History with a minor in Art History. At Walsh, Grace is a participant in the honors program, student government, the Museum Engagement Team, and choir. Grace is looking forward to gaining experience working in the McKinley Museum’s library and archives so she can one day be prepared to work as a museum professional.

Redlining…

Tags

demographics, Federal Home Loan Bank Board, foreclosures, Great Depression, Home Owners Loan Corporation, New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Redlining, revitalization, segregated communities, U.S. Congress, Urban renewal

In 1933, in an effort to forestall foreclosures during the Great Depression, Congress established the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC). In a bid to obtain Southern support for the measure, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal supporters allowed for certain provisions within the act to discriminate against Blacks and other minorities. For example, when it came to mortgage assistance, neighborhoods were color-coded for certain racial, ethnic, and economic indicators to maintain a pre-existing de facto segregation of neighborhoods. The use of a red marker to designate majority black neighborhoods gave the practice its name: red-lining.

The map above is a 1937 copy of the HOLC map for Canton. Four different colors highlight sections of town from “First grade” to “Fourth grade.”  For example, those neighborhoods shaded in green (Harter Heights and Ridgewood) were in the First Grade; the most desirable and “exclusive” housing which were attractive to home-buyers even in the most dire economic conditions. The grading was based on statistics gathered by the Division of Research and Statistics under the auspices of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and included general descriptions and numerous demographic characteristics such as foreign-born families, “negro” population, “relief families,” the nature of those moving in (also referred to as “infiltration”), construction patterns, three year mortgage and price ranges, and other numbers and factoids. In the HOLC analysis for Canton, the Harter Heights neighborhood was described as an area that had paved streets, but was also ‘highly restricted.” Most inhabitants were “professional men and junior executives.” There was also an “infiltration” of “desirable.” The estimated income of residents in the Heights was between $3,000 – $10,000 at a time the national income average was $1,780.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Fourth Grade sections of Canton, described as an area in Canton’s southeast neighborhood with factories and railroads to the north, was on a “downward” trend of desirability. Primarily, inhabitants were laborers with a 10% population of Italians and 80% “Negro.” In its clarifying remarks, the appraisal mentions that this is a “colored section” with a “lower class of Jews and Italians.” The annual income was between $800 and $1200 with only $0% of the residents owning their homes. The infiltration of new residences was characterized as “undesirables.”

The residual effects of redlining was to reinforce and solidify a segregated city through the decades. Obviously the pattern was set before the HOLC appraisal, but in 1937 redlining was federal policy. In the absence of favorable and fair bank mortgages, the ability for individuals or others to transform or improve neighborhoods became restrictive and virtually impossible. Likewise, home ownership and home improvements were rare and the cycle of poverty in these areas became even more stubbornly entrenched with race-based government policy, restrictive covenants and reluctant financial institutions. Absent economic and political growth lead to a decades-long, gradual abandonment of basic retail, medical and other basic resources vital for the well-being of residents in these neighborhoods. For example, the disappearance over the years of grocery stores resulted in what has become “food deserts,” i.e. areas absent of any fresh, nutritious food. Likewise, the mortality rates, health standards, education standards and other “quality-of-life” indicators all suffered accordingly. Even today, many of these houses still have lead-based paint on their walls with the resulting negative effect on child development.

These patterns exist throughout urban areas in the U.S. with the same results of negative health, education, income disparity with surrounding neighborhoods. The likelihood of crucial health concerns such as cancer and obesity, food deserts, mortality rates, and other outcomes are closely tied to zip codes which, in turn as the redlining map reflects, is likely to be based on race or ethnicity.  Though redlining has become illegal, other policies at both the federal and state levels have reinforced this de facto segregation. Urban renewal in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s oftentimes reinforced the boundaries of segregated communities. Construction of interstate highways such as Route 30 divided and physically isolated once vibrant communities. Today, the risk of default on low apprised housing allows banks and other financial institutions to refuse mortgages. Hence, the possibility to begin the revitalization of neighborhoods becomes an even more Herculean task as the past history of redlining reverberates into our present.

David Swope, Library Volunteer

Project McKinley Correspondence…

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25th President of the United States, accessible, archivist, binders, Canton, chronological order, citizen, conference, conserving, correspondence, create labels, custom-made folders, database, dedicate their time, documentation, documents, education, file folder, finding answers, findyourquest, Guest Blogger, Historical, information, letters, librarian, Library, long journey, managing, Mckinley, McKinley Correspondence Project, McKinley Librarian, motivation, museum software, obstacle, ohio, preserving archives, Presidential Library, protocol, pursuing this project, research requests, researchers, scanning, sleeves, systems, track, transcribed, volunteers, Walsh University, William McKinley

Podcast 

 

Our volunteers at the Presidential Library want to show you the long journey of the McKinley Correspondence Project.

To start, we want to tell you our motivation for pursuing this project. One of the major aspects of the library is making sure our information is accessible, especially for our researchers who dedicate their time to finding answers. Our volunteers at the library take their research requests very seriously and we have systems in place so that information in our library can be accessed by our volunteers and archivist.

Our project began around 2005 with one our current volunteers, Judy Pocock and Janet, a former McKinley Librarian. At the time, the Presidential Library was not how it looks today, and it wasn’t as organized or put together for accessibility. There were many projects that needed to be started and one of these projects was the McKinley Correspondence documents. This project consisted of letters to and from William McKinley during his life. They began by thinking of the different directions they could go with this project, and where to start.  It is so important to have a plan and take the time to think before you start on your project. The main goal was to find some way to summarize and put the letters in chronological order. Judy began to write out abstracts for each letter, which was a daunting process because most of the letters are handwritten. It was very time-consuming, but they were able to get a majority of them completed before Janet, the former librarian left and the project was put on hold.

This brings us to 2016 when our current archivist Mark Holland attended a conference about managing, conserving, and preserving archives. There he learned that keeping documents in binders with sleeves was not appropriate protocol anymore and he began to think of ways that they could house the McKinley Correspondence letters properly. There was a major obstacle in the way: retail stores do not sell the correct length and height of the documents. Thankfully, he was able to work with a company who put him in contact with a third-party and they were able to create custom made ring folders. These folders would allow the strain to be placed in the folders and the housing and not on the documents themselves. Once that part of the project was completed, there were still more steps that had to be thought out. The letters had to be transcribed and have correct abstracts so they could easily be found. The letters were transcribed by our volunteers, Susan Henry and Judy Pocock and former Office Manager, Rita Zwick. This part of the project took years to be completed. Volunteer, Rosemary Shaheen spent many hours entering data on the letters that researchers can find online.  Moving on to 2018, our library had an intern from Walsh University who began working on the digitization process of the project. Samantha did more of the technical side of the project by scanning and adding each piece of the sleeve to our database using our museum software. After the scanning and cataloging was completed around December, those involved in the project were able to see the results of their hard work. After having a couple of meetings to discuss the next steps, Judy and Samantha worked together to put the sleeves into our custom-made folders and create labels for each file folder, making sure everything was in chronological order and placed in the appropriate area. We are so excited to have this project completed, as it makes our research easier and more effective than just leaving it in huge binders with documents spanning five years or more per binder.

Completing the McKinley Correspondence project was extremely important because we can track what William McKinley was doing and who he was writing to during his life and even letters written by people close to him confirming his death. These documents are very important to the Presidential Library because it relates to William McKinley as a citizen of Stark County, and it  gives historical documentation about the 25th President of the United States.

March 26, 2019
McKinley Presidential Library
Guest Blogger, Samantha Weaver

China Connection…

Podcast

      

An interesting post arrived recently from a gentleman from the Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio. They are planning a large permanent collection display of fine china manufactured by the Coxon Belleek Company of Wooster. The company was established in 1926. The inquiry concerned a competitor, Morgan Belleek, established in Canton, Ohio in 1924. Since both companies operated during a similar time frame, in close proximity, could they have had any communication or cooperation with each other?

Belleek China is world-renowned and was first made in Belleek, Ireland, in 1857. It was known for its fine luster, daintiness, feather-like weight, and ceramic composition called “frit.” It became so popular that many companies copied the style and also called it “Belleek.”  Belleek China was first made in the U.S. in Trenton, New Jersey, when Walter Scott Lenox and Jonathan Coxon founded the Ceramic Art Company in 1889.  Some of the production workers and artists were brought from overseas to work in the company. The company became known as Lenox China in 1906.

Jonathan Coxon’s youngest son Fred moved to Fredericksburg, Ohio, near Wooster and opened a small pottery. He persuaded his brother Edward and his son Edward Jr. to join him in Wooster to start Coxon Belleek, using their father’s formula.  From the beginning, the quality of Coxon Belleek matched that of Irish Belleek. About 60 patterns are known, the most common one being D-1025. In 1929, the Coxons sent a 24-piece platinum-decorated set of dinnerware to President and First Lady Hoover.

Meanwhile, in Canton, Morgan Belleek China was doing very well. It was incorporated in 1923 with capital of $150,000 and located at 1465 Walter Court SE.

With approximately 25-35 employees, and only one salesman, C.E. Willis, sales eventually expanded up to $125,000 per year. J.S. Willis was President and head production man was William Morgan of Trenton, New Jersey, who had gained experience with Lenox dinnerware.  Hugo Papert was the top artist of the decorating department and the china was known as “beautiful, artistic and expensive.”

Morgan Belleek had three regular firing kilns and three decorating kilns. Complete dinnerware lines were sold, with a less expensive 83-piece set priced at $295 and the Victoria 93-piece set costing $425. Local jeweler E.T. Cusack had the showplace for Morgan Belleek, with samples of the wares on display. Local purchasers of complete sets include H. H. Timken, J. K. Vodrey, Roy D. Moore, A. M. Luntz, and William Vodrey. The dinnerware was prized for its iridescence, obtained by a means of metallic washes, and it was sold by 100 top quality retailers across the country.

Over 20 different patterns were produced, one of the finest being the cobalt brand with a 24 karat gold band on the outside. The cobalt blue was put in a high-powered kiln for 2 days at 2100 degrees and a blend of flint, feldspar and potash were used to produce its translucence.

The years 1926 through 1928 were the heyday for both Coxon Belleek and Morgan Belleek.  The Great Depression brought the end to both companies as fine china was considered a too highly-priced luxury during such lean times. Morgan Belleek was in receivership by 1929, was then purchased by American Chinaware, and subsequently closed. Coxon Belleek was out of business by 1931.  Their main competitor, Lenox China, went on to survive.

By 1934, the property of Morgan Belleek sat vacant.  Today, an intrepid investigation turned up the remnants of the company, nothing but foundation left.

“Scars in the earth”, as someone described it.

The McKinley Museum is pleased to have a number of exquisite examples of Morgan Belleek in its collection, on display in a glass case on the second floor. The Wayne County Historical Society will be having a grand opening of their permanent collection of Coxon Belleek in September of 2018.

 

Research did reveal another connection between the companies. John I. Bahl, an experienced decorator from East Liverpool, was first employed by Coxon Belleek, and later went to work for Morgan Belleek after it was purchased by American Chinaware.  Also, both companies were dedicated to pursuing the quest to rival Lenox in excellence and there were many parallels between them. Their desire to create exquisite and delicate china, inspired by the Irish Belleek. The migration of some of those talented overseas artists and producers to Trenton, New Jersey, and the subsequent relocation of Fred Coxon and William Morgan to Ohio.  Amazingly, many of these delicate pieces of china survived and are treasured today.

One more interesting fact:

In the U.S., when a plate bears the name of its country of origin, it was probably made after 1890, when the McKinley tariff required such marks on imports.

Rochelle Haas
Volunteer
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

July 18, 2018

On Visiting the Monument (Installment 1)

Tags

Canton, Family, Massillon, Mckinley, Monument, Stark County

Podcast

    

The following is a personal account of the first visit of the writer in 1965 to the McKinley National Memorial in Canton, Ohio

On Visiting the Monument (Installment 1):

My first visit to the McKinley National Memorial – a site that we as Massillonians had always just called, “the monument,” most likely came at the invitation of my first grade school- and Cub Scout-pal, Robert.

One fine June morning , just as our summer vacation was getting underway, Robert and his mother drove up in front of our house in their trusty blue Chevy.  Mom and I were out directly and got situated in the car – moms in front, kids in back.  A picnic lunch for four that mom had made the night before was folded neatly in waxed paper and packed in a basket with our drinks wrapped with equal care in aluminum foil so they’d stay cold, rested on the seat between Robert and me.  The moms both wore white “cat’s eye” rimmed style sunglasses to protect their eyes from the glare of the mid-morning sun.  Rob and I were men.  We didn’t need no glasses.

Driving from Massillon to Canton, we covered the eight mile trip in mere minutes.  As we rode the then familiar landmarks along Lincoln Way West and West Tuscarawas Street passed before us:  Lambrou’s Chicken Chateau, Brady’s Pink Cottage Restaurant and Stark Drive-In; ahead on the left, the orange roofline of Howard Johnson’s, Milk Maid Candies, the Ohio Bell Telephone Terminal Center and The Sachsenheim Club, Stemco’s, The Red Coachman, the Town & Country Buffet and little F’n E Dairy.  Construction was near finishing on the new St. Joan of Arc Church, then came Central Catholic High School, Kling Motors, The Dog House, McDonald’s Golden Arches, the Robert Hall Store and PDQ on the left, Laughlin Motors on the right; there’s Fishers and Country Fair Shopping Center.  Across the street on the south side of the block, the new Mellet Mall was getting signage in place on the wall of the huge new Penny’s store soon to open and in a few more blocks there was Heggy’s Nut Shoppe. A little farther on the left, there’s Schrock’s Hobbies and the bell tower of St. Joseph’s Church, Shopper’s Fair on the right and finally, there ahead on the right, the golden dome of First Baptist Church and just beyond, venerable Mother Goose Land.  We turned left off of West Tusc and entered the edge of the park but still at that point, the whole sweep of the monument itself was hidden from view.

We drove in heart-pounding silence up the right-hand side of the tree-lined boulevard where once, “The Long Water” formed the blade and tip of a figurative sword.  Just a little further and there at last was the monument!  First the motor court then the tiers of steps drew our eyes up to the bronze doors and the glistening white dome.  Big as it was, you almost had to refocus to capture the bronze statue of the president standing centered at a point about half way between the first step and the top step.  As I leaned over on Robert’s side of the seat to look out of the open window, the view took my breath away!  His mom brought the car to a stop in a parking space as he and I stared out the back window.  Before we left the car the moms, speaking almost in a whisper, reminded us that this was supposed to be a quiet and respectful place – like church.  Once outside the car, I still wasn’t sure of myself and I held my mom’s hand.  I remember being just caught up in the moment – dare I say, the majesty of the place – the glaring white granite, the brilliant blue of a cloudless late spring sky, the deep green of the grass and the leaves on the trees – and the silence; respectful, awesome and still.  Everybody’s mom must have had that talk in the car that morning because except for maybe the click of a camera shutter or the occasional robin or cardinal trill, there was no sound.  The American and Ohio state flags fluttered on their halyards but never scratched against the masts.  Busy West Tusc was just a few blocks away but not a sound intruded on that setting.  It seemed holy.  Then a little voice from someone who, in their own excitement, forgot the whispered reminder from their mom in the car, turned and hollered merrily from the top-most step, “One hundred and eight!”

The steps had a bit of an irregular stride so it took a few to get our climbing rhythm but it was quickly mastered and we were on our way up and up, “44,45,46…” a quick look back down to reckon how high we’d climbed and get a closer look at the statue.  “68,69,70…” gettin’ kinda sweaty; “106, 107, 108!”  We first turned to look behind us as we were standing above the tops of the trees and could see clear into downtown Canton.  The bell tower of St. Joseph’s on our right at about 2 o’clock; the fifth floor dome of Central Catholic much farther out at about 1 o’clock; directly ahead and to the left, the panorama of skyscrapers, church steeples, smoke stacks and signal towers that was the pulse of Stark County.

Now composed and reverent again, we turned to step inside.

Only one of the bronze doors was open and it was, it seemed, only open a crack but each of us entered with room to spare.  In the cool, quite stillness, taking a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, I remember making the sign of the cross and looking for a holy water fount – so very church-like was the atmosphere.   Gathered on the floor were several of the wreaths still on display from the Decoration Day program held just a few weeks before.  And there at last lying side by side in a very tall granite vault were the two McKinley’s.  Their daughters, the sign read, had been interred in the walls.  Looking up into the arch of the dome I noticed that there were flood lights shining on the vault that wasn’t black as I’d thought but instead a deep green.  This seemed an almost surreal spot, so cool and clean and quiet; right on the edge of a busy downtown but almost unaware of the hustle and bustle going on all around it.  Time suspended itself for those several minutes we spent inside reading and imagining and taking history by the hand.

Michael J. Bachtel Guest Blogger