McKinley Presidential Library & Museum to
Participate in Second Annual Ohio Memory Madness
Does
your favorite Ohio history object have what it takes to make it to the
championship?
(Canton,
OH) – In the spirit
and fun of college basketball’s March Madness, the McKinley Presidential
Library & Museum and the Ohio Historical Society invite you to participate in the Second Annual Ohio Memory Madness – a bracket
of sixty-four historical objects from across the state all competing for the
unique distinction of being named the 2014 Ohio Memory Madness Champion. Since
the historical objects featured in the bracket are unable to play tournament
style basketball, the winner of Ohio Memory Madness will be determined by
public online voting at: http://www.ohiohistoryhost.org/madness/.
The
Ohio Memory Madness bracket features images of iconic historical objects culled
from Ohio Memory, the collaborative digital library project of the Ohio
Historical Society and the State Library of Ohio, with digital collections from
360 cultural heritage institutions representing all of Ohio’s 88 counties. Voters
can learn more about each object by scrolling over each image to view a
description, or click on the image to visit the Ohio Memory image page with
more information.
The
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum is proud to have a 1918 Hoover
vacuum cleaner represent Northeast Ohio in this exciting statewide competition.
In1908, inventor J. Murray Spangler was working as a night janitor. While cleaning
rugs, the dust aggravated his asthma. He modified some existing equipment to collect
the dust and dirt into a pillowcase. Spangler asked Susan Hoover, a family
friend, to try the equipment. Her husband, W. H. "Boss" Hoover, was impressed
with the "suction sweeper." At the time, the Hoover family business produced
mostly horse harnesses and equipment. As the automobile grew in popularity, the
leather shop began to fail and they were seeking new business opportunities.
Hoover
bought the patent from Spangler in 1908, retained him as a partner, and soon
had six employees assembling six units a day in a corner of the leather goods shop.
At the time, most homes had no electricity, and they had difficulty selling the
sweepers. Once W.H. Hoover took out an ad in the Saturday Evening Post offering a 10 day free trial, they were inundated
with requests. The Hoover Company went on to become a nationally-known manufacturer
of vacuum cleaners.
Objects
will go head to head beginning March 18, and the voting is scheduled as
follows:
First
round: March 18-21
Round
of 32: March 22-26
Sweet
16: March 27-31
Elite
8: April 1-3
Final
4: April 4-5
Championship:
April 6-7
Not
only can the public vote throughout the tournament to ensure their favorite
object makes it to the championship – they can also enter to win a prize pack
from the Ohio Historical Society including tickets to the Ohio History Center
in Columbus, Ohio, a Retro Ohio t-shirt, and an assortment of Ohio munchies to
enjoy while watching that other sport.
Don’t
miss your chance to vote for the Ohio Memory Madness Champion! Your vote can
make one of Ohio’s historical objects go all the way this March.
###
About the
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum:
The
McKinley Presidential Library includes the McKinley National Memorial, the
McKinley Gallery, Street of Shops, The Stark County Story, Discover World, the
Hoover-Price Planetarium, and the Keller Gallery for changing exhibitions. We are located at 800 McKinley Monument Dr NW
in Canton.
About the Ohio
Historical Society:
Founded in 1885, the non-profit Ohio
Historical Society (ohiohistory.org)
provides a wide array of statewide services and programs related to collecting,
preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology and natural history
through its 58 sites and museums across Ohio, including its flagship museum,
the Ohio History Center in Columbus. For information regarding OHS, contact
Shannon Thomas, Communications Dept., Ohio Historical Society: 614.297.2317, sthomas@ohiohistory.org.
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