Ohio - Canton, Cleveland

 Our first Ohio stop was Canton, home of the Football Hall of Fame.  The Football Hall of Fame was much smaller than I expected although it is presently undergoing a major renovation and expansion.  It should be much better when work is completed next year.   I was surprised to learn that Rochester, NY had one of the original NFL teams, the Rochester Franklins, from 1921 through 1925.  On display is the Vince Lombardi Trophy presented to the winner of the Super Bowl.  It is handcrafted of sterling silver, stands 21 inches high, and weights seven pounds.

 

While in Canton, we also visited the First Ladies National Historic Site and the President William McKinley Memorial and Museum.  The first Ladies Site was established in the year 2000 as the 380^th park in the National Park System.  It commemorates the first Ladies’ contributions and role in American history.  

 

 

 The McKinley museum has a nice display devoted to President McKinley but it also includes artifacts from local history.  We got a laugh out of the old Hoover vacuum cleaner, invented in Canton, and the old Radio shack TRS-80 purchased in Stark County in 1980 for a grand total of $4,961.20.  There is also an excellent model railroad setup with detailed buildings, people, and scenery.  

 

With Canton as home base, we spent a full day driving all around the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  The park preserves 33,000 acres along 22 miles of the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron. The park has several visitor centers that showcase the area’s human history and beautiful natural preserves with several nice hikes, unusual rock formations, and a beautiful waterfall.  

            From Canton, we headed north to Cleveland, with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a target destination.  It was excellent and we spent almost six hours listening to music we remember so fondly.  We listened to blues, gospel, R&B, country, bluegrass, and folk music at numerous interactive listening booths throughout the museum.  There are exhibits dedicated to Elvis, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Doors, U2, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, the Supremes, and too many others to name.  I especially enjoyed the 90 minutes film on American Bandstand over the years.  The special exhibit right now is the Grateful Dead.   (Visit www.rockhall.com for more information.) 

      

      We took a side trip to Mentor, Ohio to visit the President James A. Garfield National Historic Site, honoring the 20^th president of the United States.    Elected in November 1880 and inaugurated in March 1881, President Garfield’s term was cut short on July 2, 1881 when he was assassinated in Elberon, NJ.