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story by Connye Griffin | photos by Al Griffin

The past lives large in Fulton

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Above: America’s National Churchill Museum. At right: A classic restaurant still operating in Fulton is Bek’s where Westminster students, faculty, and visitors make memories.

Some people loom large in imagination. One such person, nicknamed The Roaring Lion, is Sir Winston Churchill who, as Prime Minister, became an architect for Europe’s victory against Nazi Germany. Churchill cultivated a partnership with U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Some say these two world leaders saved the future.

Recent History

As Armistice Day, early in November nears, a trip to Fulton, Missouri may be in order. There in the 1930s, Westminster College initiated a lecture series. The seventh lecturer was Churchill in 1946. His post-World War II lecture titled “The Iron Curtain Speech” infused global policies and inspired a local private college to undertake a global mission.

Westminster and its trustees salvaged a bombed-out 17th century church designed by Christopher Wren. Set for destruction after air raids over London, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, was saved and shipped stone by stone to Fulton where it houses America’s National Churchill Museum. Inside visitors will learn much about the long loving marriage between Churchill and his wife, Churchill’s talent as an artist and writer, his skills and tenacity as Prime Minister, and his vision for a partnership between the U. S. and the U. K.

Auto History

Another feature of the 20th century looming large in imaginations is the automobile, and Fulton provides a quick trip back in time at the Auto World Museum. A local businessman, William E. Backer, recognized the link between the auto and our lives. He collected representative autos from a doctor’s buggy and an 1896 Ford to modern classics manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s. The museum is open for group tours by appointment and regular tours Friday through Sunday from May 1 to December 31. A special Fall event at the museum takes place September 10 and 11. It is the Fall Willy’s Jeep Reunion, an annual event since 1995.

If They Build, People Will Come

Graduates and administrators at Westminster imagined a future for a bombed-out church and a man’s legacy. A local man, William E. Backer, had a different vision for the future. It was one starring autos. So in Fulton, they built museums. People definitely came to see and learn. They still do.

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