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It was a rare day for me here in Ohio—a day without family plans. Before anyone gets their nose out of joint allow me to explain. In late July Lance and I drove all the way from Amarillo, Texas to Wellington, Ohio specifically to visit with my relatives. At roughly 1,300 miles it was no mean feat for us in our RV. Thankfully we had three days to work with; we left early Friday morning and were all set up in the campground by Sunday evening.

We were delighted to arrive in familiar territory—I’ve been back numerous times over the years and Lance is no stranger here either. My mother’s side of the family originated in the Columbus area and a great many of them still live in Ohio. My Uncle Lanny, his wife Aunt Sharon and my cousins Rusty and Shane (and their respective families) all live in the Mid-Ohio region, halfway between Columbus and Cleveland.

Having all these relatives is wonderful but it means that when I am in the Buckeye State I am not a tourist exploring the region’s highlights. My time is otherwise spoken for, a fact I do not lament. So far we have been busy: swimming, canoeing, eating, hiking, playing cards, back-to-school shopping, eating, telling stories around campfires, tossing frisbees, catching up, and did I mention eating?

Spending time with loved ones is a gift and I know it. It can, however, be a bit overwhelming and I do find myself in need of some down time. So when a Thursday came up where everyone else was otherwise occupied I snatched the chance to be a tourist. The hardest part was selecting a destination from my long list of places to investigate. First, I narrowed it down to those spots within a reasonable drive time: I learned the hard way a long time ago that miles don’t matter here, minutes do. Ohio has a dearth of straight roads and all roads, excepting the bits of Interstate, travel through the heart of one small town after another. I’m quite certain there are more speed limit signs than cows here: open road 55 mph, approaching a town 45 mph, in town 25 mph, leaving town 45 mph, open road…

Finally I decided to head to Canton which has three major draws; the McKinley National Memorial and Museum, the First Ladies National Historic Site, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The first two were what really piqued my interest, though if Lance had been along the Hall of Fame would have been our first stop. Don’t get me wrong, I like football but I decided to immerse myself in the area’s Presidential history instead. I figured that should take precedence since Ohio calls itself the “Mother of Presidents” having had seven native sons and one resident Ohioan elected to the White House: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, and William Henry Harrison.

First stop, the McKinley Memorial, the final resting place of the 25th President of the United States (POTUS). It is an impressive monument: 108 steps up from the parking lot, reaching 77 feet to the top of the dome, atop a sizable man-made hill. When I first arrived that morning the flight of stairs was crawling with people variously attired in workout clothes—weather permitting it is a favorite local place to exercise. I clambered up the stairs at a bit slower pace. Reaching the top I turned around and drank in the view; from up there I could look across downtown, to the rolling hills in the distance. The view, like the building, was impressive.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust from the bright sun outside to the subdued light inside the mausoleum. I was drawn to the colorful stained glass at the top of the dome—it was appropriately red, white, and blue and decorated with 45 stars representing the number of states in the union during his Presidency. Lowering my point of view the coffins of William and his wife Ida took center stage. Massive chunks of green granite, donated by a town in Vermont, had been carefully chiseled into matching sarcophagi. They were joined as one by a laurel wreath design made of gold leaf. Behind them, the markers of their only two children Katherine and Ida, who had both died in childhood, were incorporated into the wall of the monument. It was a family affair.

After one last look around I tromped down the stairs and headed over to the adjacent McKinley Presidential Library and Museum. I was actually hesitant to enter the building so close to lunch, I hate having hunger rush me. Turns out I need not have worried about it, for the first of two times that day I was slightly disappointed. Though the large building was named for the President only a small portion of the space on the second floor was actually dedicated to him.

Though the room was chock full of McKinley artifacts there was no way of knowing which pieces came from where or what their significance might be. As for the close to 60 years of living that McKinley did—that was briefly covered in a few display cases. Not quite what I expected for a man who served gallantly in the Union Army, built up a successful law practice, represented his state in the U.S. Congress, governed his home state, and eventually was elected to the highest office in the land not once, but twice.

McKinley, who was only months into his second term as President, was shot twice at close range by Leon Frank Czolgosz on September 6, 1901 while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Eight days later, with one bullet still remaining in his body, the President died from gangrene. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt rushed to Buffalo and was sworn into office at the home of a friend, which is now the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site (which we visited in 2007). Thus the life of a decorated Civil War soldier (he was the last of the Civil War vets to be elected President), successful politician, and loving husband came to an end.

There are quite a few strange (dare I say ironic?) circumstances surrounding the last days of McKinley’s life. To begin with, McKinley’s physically and emotionally ailing, yet mentally acute wife Ida had begged him not to go but he prevailed saying something like, “People may be unhappy with some of my policies but not enough to kill me.” The Exposition showcased many samples of American ingenuity one of which was Thomas Edison’s X-ray machine and the entire fair was flashily adorned with electric lights.

Unfortunately McKinley did not benefit from these important advances. His surgeons opted not to use the newfangled X-ray machine on him as they were unsure of its long-term effects. As for the lights, the one area of the Exposition not electrified was the hospital. His surgeons operated on him by the meager light reflected in from outside by pans. They couldn’t even use candlelight as the ether used to keep the President unconscious was highly flammable! Based on those conditions I am not even sure you could consider it surgery, more like just rooting around inside his body.

Then there are all these similarities between McKinley and his assassin: both men were born to large families, both were registered Republicans, both had lived in small towns in Ohio, Leon had been fired during a strike at a factory while earlier during his law career William had successfully defended striking miners, Leon despised wealthy businessmen as he believed they preyed upon the working class while as governor of Ohio William championed workers’ rights over those of the employers’.

Leon was so obsessed with the idea that the government was responsible for what he perceived as an unfair system (and therefore the head of government became his target) that he ignored McKinley’s documented record of concern for the working man. Leon’s last words, “I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people—the good working people…” Now I’m not trying to make a martyr of him but even after being shot McKinley tried to protect Leon, crying out “Don’t let them hurt him.” Perhaps it was the lawyer in him that wanted a defendant to put on trial but I’m not sure I would have had the same amount of concern for my assailant.

After lunch I scurried over to the First Ladies National Historic Site in time for one of the guided tours. Unfortunately, it was my second disappointment of the day. It wasn’t a complete waste of time since the tour of the Saxton house was informative and the old Victorian had been masterfully restored. Though the Saxton house was important in the life of Ida McKinley—her grandfather John Saxton built the house which she and William lived in for a number of years before the Presidency—the premise of the park was never fully met.

There was precious little on display about this country’s former First Ladies and what was out amounted to dresses and some artwork. I was flabbergasted (and a bit offended) that the place specifically designated by Congress to celebrate and interpret the important role of First Lady could only offer up trivialities. After all, beginning with Martha Washington the female companion did far more than serve as public hostess: she fulfilled important social duties, acted as an advisor, advocated for policy change, pressed for social reforms, promoted legislation, and was tasked with the preservation of the house, its furnishings, and the grounds.

Oh well, I’m still glad I visited the sites and as usual I learned a few things. Plus, by the end of my day exploring I found myself looking forward to the family dinner that night and seeing everyone again. After all, it’d been almost a whole day since I’d last seen them…

Dates: I visited Canton, Ohio on 08/13/09.

Photos: View the photographs from McKinley and the First Ladies.

Video: See the accompanying video of animatronic William and Ida McKinley talking about the Civil War.

The McKinleys talk about the Civil War[mp4 5.5 MB, 43 sec]