Football Hall of Fame Festival

The festivities are going to begin soon!

I wanted to remind all the locals, if you have guests coming to town for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival, bring them to the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum while they're here!

There are only a handful of communities that can call themselves a presidential town. And Canton is one of them. That is something to really be proud of.

If you got to this blog because you're planning a trip to Canton, please consider stopping in! We've got a lot of wonderful things for the entire family to enjoy:

• Discover World -- an interactive science center for kids of all ages!
• McKinley Gallery -- the largest collection of McKinley memorabilia in the world
• Keller Gallery -- featuring the Smithsonian traveling exhibition The Working White House through August 30
• Hoover-Price Planetarium -- shows every day at 1:00 for the summer (2:00 on Sundays)
• Street of Shops -- a life-size recreation of a 19th century town
• McKinley National Memorial -- the final resting place of President McKinley, his wife Ida and their two young daughters

There's something for everyone, so be sure to include us in your travel plans!

Great night last night!

Last night's Soup at Six: "The Working White House" went great! Thank you to all of the volunteers who worked, and Mel, Stephanie, Joyce, Cindy and Chris for their hard work too. We make a great team!

We assumed we would have a warm night when we set the date for JULY, so we planned a cold tomato soup with fresh parsley. And it was cold yesterday! Oh well.

We showed a documentary made by the Smithsonian, most of which was a recording of White House staff on a panel at the Folklife Festival several years ago. The narrator was David McCullough, whom I ADORE!! (He's like a movie star to a historian!!) We also watched an introduction by Jimmy Carter first.

Then I took the group upstairs for a tour of The Working White House. Because there were so many people, I did an introduction outside the gallery and pointed out some things in the exhibit that I wanted to make sure they saw. Then I stuck around for questions and comments.

It was a great night. One of those nights that makes you proud of what you do, and so very honored to be able to bring history to life for our community.

I love my job!

More Soup at Six programs!

Tonight's Soup at Six: "The Working White House" has been full for quite awhile.

BUT, we've added two programs for this fall with a "historic home" theme:



The McKinley Home is removed from Mercy Hospital

Soup at Six: "The McKinley Home"
September 17
Join Judy Pocock for a look at the fascinating history of the McKinley Home. Learn who built it, what really went on during the Front Porch Campaign, how it became the first home of Mercy Hospital, and why it was eventually torn down.



The Harter Mansion

Soup at Six: "The Harter Mansion"
November 19
Join Dick Haldi for a look at the history of this famous home that was the private residence of the Aultman and Harter families.

Each program is $10 per person, pre-paid reservations required, and includes a signature soup, bread, dessert and a program.

Call us to make a reservation at 330-455-7043.

Victorian House is almost done!

From the front


From the side -- there will be more things displayed against that wall on the platform across from the house


Around the back, where there will be mannequins, furniture, and other period items displayed

We had a conference call with Split Rock this morning to clarify some details. Things are moving forward!

More progress pics!

Things are moving right along!!

Last night the floor was stripped and rewaxed in the former Historical Hall (now known as Gallery B). Compare the photo below to this one when you could still see the outline of the room settings!



And here is what the Victorian House looks like RIGHT NOW:





I know I've said it a hundred times, but we really are so excited about seeing this project come to life!

We have had a bit of a break from proofing panels because the graphic designer at Split Rock has been on vacation. I'm sure we'll have plenty to do next week!

Victorian House progress

It's coming along quite nicely! John Zwick and his team work FAST. And their work is quality.

Inside the house will be some furniture and three well dressed ladies from the 1890s.

It's all really starting to come together! Very exciting!

3 x 3 Science Samplers

Lynnette is doing a great job with the summer science camps!!

Yesterday the kids learned about solar energy and baked brownies using a solar oven!





Today they are learning about wind energy and tomorrow will be water energy.

There are three more camps next week. We've had a great turn out for them!