John McCain took an early morning's look at Mitt Romney's political future at a funeral home:
After briefly appearing before sunrise outside Precinct 3 voting station in Traverse City, Mich., the Arizona senator remarked on the beauty of the neighborhood’s Victorian houses. As luck would have it, the owner of the grandest home on the block, 305 Sixth St., was hanging around, having heard McCain was in the area.
McCain, who often describes himself as a student of history, quickly asked for a tour of the home. Peg Jonkhoff, 51 years old, the home’s owner and proprietor of Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home & Cremation Services, led McCain and his wife, Cindy, over the snow bank and down the block to the enormous turreted building.
The Queen Anne-style house was built between 1891 and 1893 by lumber baron Perry Hannah, described in a funeral home brochure as the “pioneer founder of Traverse City.” The home has 34 rooms and features hand-cut glass window door panes from Tiffany’s, Brazilian mahogany paneling and ten fireplaces. The architect was W.G. Robinson of Grand Rapids. It has served has a funeral home since 1937.
McCain called it a “beautiful, magnificent home,” and seemed fascinated by the extensive woodwork. “People are dying to get in there,” he quipped later.
Jonkhoff, a Republican, hadn’t voted at the time of the visit but she said she’s “thinking of supporting John.” She had also considered Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney - 'Either that man's dead, or my watch has stopped.' G. Marx
