mreichert@tribtoday.com
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Patrick Finan of Cortland, one of the Tribune Chronicleâs McKinley columnists, always writes the first draft of his column on a yellow legal pad.
CORTLAND — Patrick Finan likes to travel to what he says are “quirky places.”
The Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota? Check.
Frankenmuth, Michigan, home of the world’s largest Christmas store? Check that one several times.
Sturgis, South Dakota, during the annual motorcycle rally? Yep, but not specifically to see the bikes.
Dix, N.Y., to see the bloody towel from President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination? And last fall, a trip to Winchester, Va., to see the hall where Niles native and former President William McKinley was inducted into the Masons? As a presidential history buff, that would be a definitive yes on both of those.