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.
Then & Now in Canton, Ohio. Then The McKinley National Memorial weeks before it is dedicated. Now The McKinley National Memorial maintained for 113 years.
In our service to the community, we often find ourselves starting with a question posed which leads to a fascinating journey through our archives and beyond. One such question arrived via email in April, 2017 from a researcher with the National Archives of Chicago. Planning an article for the agency’s quarterly journal, Prologue, the gentleman inquired if we had a photograph of the socialist, antiwar activist Eugene V. Debs addressing an audience in Canton, Ohio in Nimisilla Park. The speech took place on June 16, 1918, five months before Armistice Day and the end of WWI. A search of our archives revealed no such photo, but a colorized postcard of Nimisilla Park and its bandstand from 1907 was found and forwarded to him.
Recently, archivist Mark Holland was doing research on an unrelated matter. While browsing the Western Reserve Historical Society database, Mark spotted the name “Eugene Debs.” Clicking on the link, he was led to the David Rubenstein Gallery of the National Archives. He was astonished to find a crystal clear black and white photograph of Debs addressing a sizeable crowd at Nimisilla Park in Canton, Ohio.
The significance of this event is notable. Debs was known as one of the most outspoken opponents of American participation in WWI. He had started his career as a railroad laborer and eventually become the president of the American Railway Union. He converted to socialism in 1897 and ran as the Socialist Party candidate for President five times. By 1918, the US government was imprisoning socialist dissidents who were antiwar. Eugene Debs was on their radar.
The speech in Canton, Ohio was duly noted and the district attorney for Northern Ohio, Edwin S. Wetz, had stenographers record his words. Debs had chosen the Canton location as it was not far from the Canton jail where three socialists were being held in violation of the Espionage Act. During the speech he criticized the rationale of the war while denouncing the government for suppressing free speech.
He told the audience “you need to know that you are good for something more than slavery and cannon fodder.”
Debs was arrested the next day in Cleveland and charged with ten counts under the Sedition Act of 1918. After six hours of deliberation, the jury found Debs guilty on three counts, ruling that he had tried to incite refusal of military service. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. After serving 3 years, Warren G. Harding commuted his sentence.
Debs’ conviction and the ongoing arguments regarding the boundaries of free speech eventually led to the formation of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Concluding, one can say that the question posed led to the uncovering of a turbulent piece of Americana, with Canton, Ohio as a part of that story. As we examine our current environment, with its own battles and controversies, we can better understand the cyclical nature of our nation’s history.
Driving down the interstate is long, it’s for the most part boring, and its…interstate. It is always nice to exit the interstate, and find a city to explore. The problem is finding the highlights of the city. Where can we eat? What fun things are there to do? What is some of the city’s history?
Wonder no more…We present to you from the minds of middle schoolers of
This app came out of ideas generated in a week long camp presented by TomTod Ideas know as Camp What If.
The actual application was made possible by Mountain Ethos.
CantonSmart App was launched at November’s First Friday in Canton, Ohio.
It features local downtown restaurants and 38 historic photographs of Canton, Ohio taken in 1956 by Robert Hildebrand, known as Inverted Intersections.
Market Avenue North & Tuscarawas Street Canton, Ohio 1956
Cleveland Avenue North & 4th Street November 3, 2017
There are more features coming in the near future.
Archivist's Attic... 