Any self-respecting history buff certainly knows already that recent weeks marked the 120th anniversary of the assassination and funeral of President William McKinley, a Mahoning Valley native.

McKinley was gunned down Sept. 6, 1901, by Leon Czolgosz, on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y.

He died eight days later on Sept. 14, 1901, and was laid to rest about another week later, as the nation mourned.

McKinley was born in 1843 in Niles, where he had lived until 1852, when his family moved to Poland in Mahoning County, reportedly so he could attend better schools. He graduated from Poland Seminary in 1859. After that he studied at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., and later at Mount Union College in Alliance.

I learned some details of McKinley’s early life, including his ties to the Mahoning Valley, and the story of his assassination when, in the third grade, my son was assigned to do a school report on a “famous Ohioan.” He chose the nation’s 25th president, William McKinley.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, I admit, I hadn’t studied much about native Ohio presidents, so I feared I wouldn’t be much help on the report.

So, on a Saturday morning back then, he and I headed for downtown Niles, where we spent a few hours visiting the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum and then touring the McKinley Birthplace Home, a replica of McKinley’s early home built on the very foundation, also in downtown Niles. My son and I both learned a lot about William McKinley, and that’s where I first met Mike Wilson, William McKinley impersonator and performer.

Wilson, who now serves as director of SCOPE Senior Services in Trumbull County, that day (like many days) was clad in a black period suit, top hat and, of course, he wore McKinley’s signature red carnation. In character as William McKinley, Wilson spent quite some time with my son and I, discussing William McKinley’s youth, his presidency and, of course, the sad drama of his assassination.

William McKinley had been shot as he stood inside the Temple of Music greeting thousands who came to see him at the Pan American Expo in Buffalo.

McKinley typically wore the scarlet carnation on his lapel, apparently for luck. That day his luck had run out. Just moments before he was gunned down, he had removed the flower boutonniere from his lapel and handed it to a 12-year-old girl named Myrtle Ledger who was in line to meet the president.

“I must give this flower to another little flower,” McKinley is reported to have said, Wilson relayed to my son.

Just 3 feet away stood the slightly built assassin in line behind little Myrtle, holding a small .38 caliber handgun hidden in his right hand under a white handkerchief.

Czolgosz shot McKinley twice. He took aim for a third shot, but he was tackled by others who had been standing nearby.

Bleeding badly, McKinley fell into a seat. Reportedly, he was more concerned with the care of his assassin and his wife, Ida, than he was for his own well-being.

As he bled profusely, he called the attackers off, telling them not to hurt Czolgosz. Then he whispered to his personal secretary to be careful at how they relayed the news of his shooting to his wife.

McKinley died eight days later. His casket was taken to Canton, the city that he and his wife called home. Members of his White House Cabinet, senators, congressmen and even Supreme Court justices attended the funeral there on Sept. 19, 1901, 120 years ago last month.

President McKinley was laid to rest in West Lawn Cemetery in Canton where his children and parents were buried.

My son relayed the entire story to his then third-grade teacher, sharing vividly what he’d learned and describing his tour of the two Niles museums. She was thrilled with his adventure and, of course, he earned an A on the assignment.

It was a fun afternoon in which I think I learned as much as he did!

blinert@tribtoday.com