The Wall, KC, and Me
- TheBetterHalf
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
The Berlin Wall. Yes, that one in Germany of so many years ago, not the wall that sits on our southern border that ignites debates during happy hours. The wall we will be highlighting today is legendary stuff that your grandparents, parents or history teachers may have bored you with.
Cutest and I know that many fellow “Boomers” lived prior to, during and post wall-world headlines. But during our embarrassing acne years, a great number of us slept through current events class, only read the newspaper’s comic section and ate dinner on TV trays after the evening news. (Have a quick look below >.) Our knowledge and concerns of the world’s post war politics didn’t improve until later in life.
Usually Cutest and I relate fun travel adventures or our recent discovery of new and old food, beverage or entertainment venues right here in River City. The following subject falls under the entertainment/educational banner. Do not be afraid. I will attempt to keep this brief and worthy of your time.
Union Station’s Berlin Wall exhibit opened in May and will continue until December 13th. We think it is a MUST SEE! The artifacts and videos are professionally displayed. The timeline covers before, during and after the wall’s existence. The human element is expertly and honestly highlighted in every era.
Here’s a brief capsule of the subject matter covered: The race to capture Berlin as WWII wound down, by not only the United States but also England, France and Russia. Winston Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Kennedy’s meeting with Khrushchev, Civil Defense helmets, duck and cover, American jazz, Check Point Charlie, Sputnik, what KC was like in the 1950s and ‘60s and much more.
I am not always a fan of exhibits. Often they miss their intended mark or they have a thin collection of artifacts and related stories. With the Wall, I found the recommended two hours of viewing time to be spot on and worthy of the admission price.
Some quick related personal stories. My dad was part of the local Civil Defense team, probably just an excuse to get out of the house and share bourbon and cigars with the neighbors. Along with this honor came a nice shiny white plastic helmet with a CD sticker on the front. It came in handy a year or so later when the Ruskin Heights tornado struck many miles away but for my safety I wore it proudly in our basement.
Duck and cover lessons surely would have saved me with the protective metal and plywood desk standing over me.
Sputnik was cool and I even went out to our backyard to watch it fly overhead for 30 seconds. There’s more but my nostalgia timer is up.
So escape these dog days of summer by walking down to the cool subterranean world below Union Station and absorb what you will find expertly curated there. It will make your old history professor proud.
The left side is what the wall looked like on the east; the right is facing the west.
And finally:
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