Presidents, Peace & Passion: Canton, Ohio (Day 4)

Tonight is my last night in Canton, y’all. I have two more things to do tomorrow before my driver comes to, uh, drive me home in the afternoon: trolls and pizza.

I am very much looking forward to both, but I don’t have time for that now. I have to tell y’all about the second potential winner for sleeper of the trip, and one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been, and a chaotic lunch where I was afraid of a very tall girl.

First, the sleeper:

The McKinley Presidential Library and Museum

Look. I had no idea what to expect with this place, y’all. I woke up, had some coffee, hopped into a Lyft, and hoped for the best. And the best is what I got, because this Presidential Library is so much more than the libraries I’m familiar with. It’s a science museum, it’s a history museum, it’s a oldentimes town that I can explore, it’s a monument.

And something I wasn’t expecting, it was the final resting place of our 25th president and his wife. Another thing I wasn’t expecting? This final resting place was stunning.

It was a lot of steps to walk up. Not gonna lie, I felt a bit like Rocky and should have been listening to that score. However, for some reason today, I decided to listen to Mica Levi’s incredible Zola score, and it served me well.

So, the McKinley Presidential Library was split into two sections: a history section and a science section.

Here are some pics from the history section (Look, I am tired and my words aren’t working tonight) (also, I know that this spot will get it’s own blog post either here or on OIYS; I really loved it y’all. I think I’m about to really get into presidents and their first ladies, y’all) (also, also, the love President McKinley had for Ida came through with every single person who spoke about them and every word I read about them. It really warmed my anti-romantic heart).

Things to look for in the above gallery:

Tracy Morgan
Jenny Slate
The Shirt McKinley (probably) was wearing when he got shot
A tiara that got rescued because of an episdoe of Pawn Stars
Wooden dumbbells

After I made my way through the history, I headed to the science. Do you know what I found there, y’all?

PURE JOY.

There were animals, each one I said, “Hey budddddddy” to. There were science projects from my childhood, like the shadow memory wall and the clear globe with electricity things. There were fossils! There were ROCKS!

And by the time I was on my way out, there were busloads of kids, having an incredible field trip. Here are some hightlights:

By the time I got to the science part, I kept forgetting to take pics. Especially when it came to the science experiement-y things. I stuck my shadow to the wall, and I played around with electricity. I looked at sound waves. I just had a great time, y’all.

Side note: if you spend some time with the (HUGE) model train in the history portion of events, look for Waldo… and also talk to the fella running the train. He’s so passionate about it. It tickled me so much,

After exploring the library, I traversed the steps up to the memorial. I was the only one in there, and it was very peaceful.

Then, I headed to lunch at Chloe’s Diner, where I almost felt embarrassed at the chaotic meal I ordered:

A corn dog
A breakfast sandwich on a biscuit with bacon, scrambie eggs, and American cheese
Side of hashbrowns (v. good, almost Waffle House level)
Hush puppies (GOOD AS FUCK)

Bro, I hadn’t had a corn dog in so long, and it really slapped. Everything did, tbh. Cleo’s just had solid diner food, y’all. I mean, of course it did… just look at it:

The Squid Game “red light, green light” girl kinda freaked me out, not gonna lie… especially when she started moving, talking, and playing “red light, green light”. Especially, ESPECIALLY when kids were playing along, it just felt unsettling. But… I do tend to lean into TV and Movies more than the average bear.

After lunch, I had a short walk to the Massillon Museum. They billed themselves as an art and history museum, and they lived up to both claims. During my visit, they had exhibits featuring:

Local artists
Shells
The circus
Dishes
The Holocaust (this one got me choked up unexpectedly)
and so much more

I also got a sneak peek of their upcoming Route 77 exhibit, which opens to the public soon. I didn’t take pics of this, but I will tell you it featured some incredible neon signs, one of which was fully restored on one side and left as is on the other. I’m so glad they did that… it was a nice comparison.

My favorite tidbit from this museum was down in the locals-only exhibit, because I recognized an artist by style… and then by name. See? I sent D pics of my Tuesday night art collective adventures, and she asked me if I knew who one of the artists was. I did not, but I asked the Swiss Army Man friend I made, and she told me his name (Zach Finn!) and gave me his Instagram handle.

Here are his pieces that I spied in the locals-only exhibit gallery, made with crayon!!!!

If I were a richer Jacki, I would have brought one of these home.

Here’s some of the other art (and history!) I saw at this lovely museum. I was touched by the care and humanity that went into each and every exhibit.

Also, sorry about all the elephants from the circus exhibit.

I was really surprised to see someone had painted a portrait of my friend Simon, or at least Simon from 100 years ago.

This was a great museum, with so much passion and care. And GREAT souvenirs. This might get its own blog post one day, but I have to shout out Stark County, Ohio, for having very reasonably priced souvenirs. I would list them all out here, but I want Mickey to be surprised when he sees what I brought home.

Then I headed out to my final (non-consumable stop of the day: The Rhoda Wise House and Grotto. Now, if you know me a little, you know I am not a religious person at all. If you know me well, you know that my mom was very much against me exploring any belief system that wasn’t her own, to the point of making me come home early from Saturday sleepovers so I wouldn’t accidentally end up at church. You might also know (if you know me very, very well) that I went through an exploration period once I was on my own, during which I visited a wide variety of churches to figure out what fit me. Turns out, I’m still not very religious. I believe in me. I believe in putting good out into the world and being happy, and encouraging those around me to find happiness… however that looks for them.

Rhoda Wise was a Catholic convert who was visited by and healed by the Lord, more than once. She suffered the visible stigmata on the first Friday of every month for 2.5 years. People would visit her and try to prove her wrong. The Lord took away her visible stigmata and replaced them with invisible wounds until she passed away.

When I arrived at the house and grotto, I rang the bell and was greeted by two lovely women, who just seemed so peaceful. They told me about the miracles and sat me down to watch a 30-minute video about Rhoda. Then they left me to explore the house and grotto.

While I was there, in the room where the Lord appeared to Rhoda, the two women prayed alongside a priest who seemed to materialize out of nowhere. I believe it was the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. I found the rhythm of it to be calming.

One of the ladies, in particular, was very passionate about getting the word out. She shared with me some other nearby Cathloic attractions that I’ve added to my list for the next visit. Also, I know this has nothing to do with anything, but her hair was stunning. It was a full, swingy bob, with perfectly curled ends. The kind that looks natural and not intentional.

Everyone there seemed so at peace. Nadga is a staunch Catholic, so I picked her up a few things from their lil gift shop.

I spent some time sitting in the grotto and I found quite a bit of peace there. It was honestly a lovely experience and I think I would go back next time I’m in town.

Riding that peaceful, passionate high, I headed back to the hotel to regroup, and upoad over 1000 photos from the day and get ready for dinner.

I made a rainy walk over to Basil Asian Bistro. I went the wrong way first, turned around and went the right way. I sat at the bar and ordered hot sake, sushi, and crab rangoon. When my food came out, my sake got spilled, so my chopsticks added a bit of extra flavor to my meal.

Everything was delicious, but the miso soup was the real standout. Mmm, mmm, I wish I were slurping it now.

After dinner, I planned to come back to the room and get to typing, but then I saw this sign on the walk home:

Did I want to go around the corner and get a beer? Yes, I did. And I’m so glad, because this beer was DELICIOUS, y’all. Like, a Belgian Dubbel that was a shining example of the style… and a creative Saison that was the best one I’d tried in about five years.