Friday, May 6, 2011

Fulton, MO May 5, 2011

I will have to backtrack after this post but I wanted to get this entered before I forget. From Fulton, KY on Monday to Fulton, MO today…Thursday.  We are staying in Mexico, MO for a few days and today traveled about 25 miles south to Fulton, Missouri the home of Westminster College and the National Churchill Museum...that would be Winston Churchill.  Oh, did I forget to mention that the museum is located in the basement of a church designed by Sir Christopher Wren…in London, England.  Doesn’t every small town have a church that was built in England way back in 1667.  The church was bombed during WWII and was described as an “eyesore” afterwards.

From Wikipedia:

Westminster College is a private, selective, liberal arts institution in Fulton, Missouri, USA. It was founded by Presbyterians in 1849 as Fulton College and assumed the present name in 1851. The National Churchill Museum and Library are located on the campus. The National Churchill Museum (formally known as the Churchill Memorial) is a national historic site and includes the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury. The church, designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1667, was rebuilt on the campus to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill, who made his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in 1946. As a bookend to history, Mikhail Gorbachev gave a speech in 1992, declaring the end of the Cold War.

On November 9, 1990, the one year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, former President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech dedicating a major section of the Berlin Wall, which now stands as a permanent monument on the College Quad, as a backdrop. The monument, named "Breakthrough" as designed by Winston Churchill's granddaughter, Edwina Sandys. See photo below for a visual of the Church, Library, and Berlin Wall monument.

This is a beautiful campus with enrollment of 1300 at this time.  We arrived late in the afternoon but luckily, due to a private function, the hours at the museum had been extended.  To do the museum justice one would need to spend several hours…it is a great museum and a beautiful college campus. 

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The museum was truly wonderful…too much to even try to show.  We will have to go back someday when we have lots of time.

Moving on.

1 comment:

  1. This really is an interesting place. Steve and I attended a wedding there about 15 years ago. What a wonderful setting. There is also a piece of the Berlin Wall preserved there.
    Linda Egge

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