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Tag Archives: Hospital

Pay It Forward Mary Renkert Wendling…

17 Wednesday May 2023

Posted by McKinley Presidential Library & Stark County Archives in Guest Blogger

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attorney, brick, CantonMuseumofArt, Cleveland, community, Hospital, LehmanHigh, Library, MarquetteUniversity, MaryRenkertWendling, Mckinley, Mercy, MetropolitanPavingBrick, MountUnion, RenkertBuilding, RenkertWendlingFoundation, Research, skyscraper, StarkCounty, tile, TimkenMercyHospital, ToothFairy, UniversityHospital, WalshUniversity, woman

We honor and celebrate the life of a Stark County woman, Mary Renkert Wendling, who though no longer with us, continues to give back to our community.


Mary was born at Mercy Hospital in 1934 to Maurice and Bessie Marie Wendling. Maurice was a respected attorney with an office in the Renkert Building, which was known as Canton’s first skyscraper and constructed around 1913 by Harry S. Renkert. Bessie Marie was the daughter of Oliver Renkert, brother to Harry. Oliver, a dentist by profession, was the Vice President of the Metropolitan Paving Brick Company of Canton. Oliver and Harry were the sons of J. J. Renkert, the pioneering Ohio brick and tile manufacturer. Mary was the beloved first and only child of Maurice and Bessie Marie, and their dedication to her was revealed in the contents of an archival donated box at the McKinley Research Library.

From the first day of Mary’s birth, her mother began to write entries in a book entitled “Log of Life.” There are inscriptions of important dates, trips, parties, celebrations, and developmental milestones. There are locks of hair, baby teeth, hand and footprints, report and birthday cards, party invitations, greeting cards, letters, photographs and even a first Will and Testament written by Mary herself at the age of 12. In her will she bequeathed all of her possessions, including her dog Boots and her turtle Whiskey, to her mother should she survive her. Included even are letters from her own special Tooth Fairy, “Marigold.” A letter written to Mary, by her father in 1937 states: “Always do things promptly. You will find it pays in the end. Be always steadfast, truthful, and loyal. May you have a full, happy and healthful life.”

By all accounts, Mary’s life seemed to be a happy and productive one. She attended St. John’s Elementary School and graduated from Lehman High School. She had written in her “Log of Life” when she was 17 that she sincerely hoped to be able to enter the field of Medical Technology and specialize in Bacteriology. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Mount Union College in 1956. She had also attended Marquette University and completed an internship in Medical Technology at University Hospital in Cleveland. She was eventually employed at Timken Mercy Hospital in 1951 and worked as a medical technologist and bacteriologist, continuing her career there until she retired in 1997. Her Log of Life indicates that she took many trips, loved to drive, and was devoted to her family, friends, colleagues and animals.

In 1998, Mary established the Mary Renkert Wendling Foundation, a private charitable foundation headquartered in Brooklyn, Ohio. Only three years later, Mary passed away at the age of 66 on September 30, 2001. No cause of death was indicated in her obituary but she was said to have passed peacefully. She was a member of the Humane Society, Chihuahua Club of America, American Society of Medical Technologists, Ketchum Society of Mount Union College, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and the Wagner Society of New York. Today, Mary’s Foundation continues giving back to our community. In 2023, the Mount Union Department of Visual Arts and Media was awarded a $30,000 grant to purchase equipment to give students more opportunities for hands-on learning. Other recipients have included Walsh University, Ohio Light Opera, Tuscarawas Philharmonic, the
Canton Museum of Art, and Goodwill Industries. In summary, we acknowledge with gratitude today Mary Renkert Wendling, who led a rich and fulfilling life and succeeded in her plan to pay it forward.

Rochelle Haas
Library Volunteer
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

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Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy… Part Seven, the Aultman Hospital

13 Sunday Mar 2022

Posted by McKinley Presidential Library & Stark County Archives in Guest Blogger

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Archives, Aultman, Aultman Hospital, Aultman Memorial Hospital, Canton, Charity, Cornelius Aultman, Donation, Elizabeth Harter, exhibit, Healthcare, Hospital, Intern, Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman, Lasting Legacy, Library, Local History, Medical, Museum, ohio, Research, Stark County

On December 26, 1884, millionaire Cornelius Aultman died suddenly.  His widow Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman wanted to create Stark County’s first hospital in memory of her late husband, as it was an unfilled aspiration of his.

From left to right: Cornelius Aultman, Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman, and Elizabeth Harter.

She proposed the idea to his daughter, Elizabeth Aultman Harter. Elizabeth agreed to help her step-mother fulfill this plan in honor of her father. In 1891, the two women provided funding and 4.5 acres of land for the medical center.

Once it was complete, the hospital could accommodate up to 70 patients, larger than any other hospital in a city of Canton’s size at this time. Sitting at its current location of 2600 6th Street Southwest, the Aultman Memorial Hospital opened on January 17, 1892. However, the hospital did not receive its first patient until February 5 of that year. Aultman Hospital is still serving Stark County to this day. According to their most recent annual report available, the hospital cared for over 650,000 patients in 2018 alone.

Sister in Arms…

11 Wednesday Nov 2020

Posted by McKinley Presidential Library & Stark County Archives in Everyday Archivist

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Aerial Supply Field, Canton, Hawkins, Honor Roll of Ohio, Hospital, Middletown, Nurses, ohio, Pennsylvania, sisters, Stark County, thank you veterans, The Great War, World War One

Nurses born in Monroe County, Ohio and fought for Stark County in the Great War…

Snow Storm

04 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by McKinley Presidential Library & Stark County Archives in Living Historian

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Aultman, Birth, Boy, Hospital, Scouts, Snow, Storm

The Blizzard of 71 hit, and I entered the world. Early morning, February 8th my mom woke and knew it was time. My dad drove her to Aultman Hospital. When I was born, my brothers weren’t allowed to be in the hospital room. They stayed outside, and made a snowman in my honor. Dr. Andrew Botchner delivered me into the world. I went to my first Boy Scout meeting on the way home from the hospital…more later…

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