67 The ghost of William B. McKinley

In #65 I said I don’t believe in ghosts, however, Mr. McKinley seemed everywhere when I was at the University of Illinois. I lived in Hannah McKinley Hall (see blog 54), attended McKinley Presbyterian Church, recovered from mono at McKinley Hospital, walked on McKinley Avenue, and taught Spanish at Urbana High School which had a McKinley field. Who was this mysterious McKinley whose name was everywhere?

William B. McKinley was the son of a Presbyterian minister who made his fortune in public works. After learning the banking business with his uncle, in 1884 he entered the field of public utilities, building the first water works to supply Champaign and Urbana. Soon after, he also built the first electric lighting plant for the two cities, housing the generators in the water works buildings. In 1890, he bought, electrified, and expanded the horse car line between Urbana and Champaign. He also bought the gas and electric plants in Defiance, Ohio, and built a street railway there. In 1892, he sold his utilities holdings in Champaign-Urbana, and bought and electrified horse car lines in Springfield, Ohio and Bay City, Michigan. He became involved in rail lines in many Illinois and some Indiana cities.

In 1902, William McKinley running as a Republican was elected to a seat on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. He served in that post until 1905 and first ran for Congress in 1904. The Champaign and Urbana newspapers supported him, and he was elected easily and then reelected three times. McKinley ran the re-election campaign of William Howard Taft in 1912 against independent candidate Teddy Roosevelt and Democrat Woodrow Wilson. He served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (59th through the 66th Congresses, missing the 63rd). In 1921 he was elected to the Senate.

William McKinley believed that the wealthy had an obligation to pay back to the community in both service and dollars. He donated nearly $1 million for the hospital, the University YWCA McKinley Hall and the McKinley Presbyterian Church, 809 S. Fifth St., Champaign, to honor his parents, according to an article in the Daily Illini. McKinley Foundation at the Presbyterian church had speakers, retreats, dinners and activities for students.

McKinley Health Center was named for his father after he donated $250,000 in 1925 to build and equip a hospital for students and staff. McKinley Athletic Fields at both the Urbana and the Champaign High Schools were named for him and there is also a Champaign street named for his father. There is a chair in economics named for William B. McKinley at the U. of I. funded by an endowment.

Senator McKinley also donated money to Blackburn College in Carlinville, IL. When he died in 1926, several months away from completing his Senate term, McKinley's gifts to Blackburn totaled $150,000. His last gift was the money to build the charming brick home found on the corner of Nicholas Street and College Avenue where the President lives. He also donated the pipe organ at the Presbyterian Church of Petersburg, IL in 1917 in memory of his father.

It's a stretch to call him a ghost, especially since I don't believe in ghosts, but an assignment is an assignment. Besides, he sheltered me, took care of me when I was sick, ministered to my spiritual needs, walked with me, and hung around when I was teaching. Perhaps he qualified as a ghost.

Sources: Twin Cities Traction by H. George Friedman, Jr., 2001
http://www-faculty.cs.uiuc.edu/~friedman/champaign-urbana/Chapter18.htm
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress 1774-present
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biod