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Freshly returned from their trip to Souilly France, Mayor Gary Brown and his wife Jamy recount their trip to a crowded Pershing Association Building Saturday. They recall the warm hospitality of the foreign country, its sites and sounds, along with an occasional active grenade or landmine for added excitement.
The roots of this trip were planted one year ago when Souilly Mayor Christine Habert visited Laclede for General John J. Pershing’s birthday. This year the Browns repaid the favor with a visit to Souilly of their own, along with a ceremony to celebrate the 150th birthday of General John J. Pershing. There was also a twinning ceremony marking the relationship between Souilly and Laclede.
The day of the ceremony was unfortunately very cold and very wet, but a sizeable crowd of patrons showed up for the event; it was even covered by the local news. The ceremony took place outside Pershing’s 1918 headquarters, now transformed into the Pershing Museum. They toured the museum, and both Gary and Jamy thought it and the Laclede museum were strikingly similar. They even got to see Pershing’s office, which had been restored to its original appearance in 1918. There were even guards in period dress.
“I really enjoyed their Pershing look-alike,” says Gary. “He had the Pershing glare perfect.”
With a sizable display of pictures and artifacts from their trip, Jamy explained that a large amount of the wartime shelters in the area remain intact from the Great War. “It was so interesting to see that some of these shelters look the same as they did back when they were in use,” says Jamy. She went on to explain that it is not uncommon to find grenades or landmines at these sites. It is also not uncommon for these grenades and landmines to remain active. “We were told to leave them alone if we found one,” says Jamy.
See the LCL for the full story
Freshly returned from their trip to Souilly France, Mayor Gary Brown and his wife Jamy recount their trip to a crowded Pershing Association Building Saturday. They recall the warm hospitality of the foreign country, its sites and sounds, along with an occasional active grenade or landmine for added excitement.
The roots of this trip were planted one year ago when Souilly Mayor Christine Habert visited Laclede for General John J. Pershing’s birthday. This year the Browns repaid the favor with a visit to Souilly of their own, along with a ceremony to celebrate the 150th birthday of General John J. Pershing. There was also a twinning ceremony marking the relationship between Souilly and Laclede.
The day of the ceremony was unfortunately very cold and very wet, but a sizeable crowd of patrons showed up for the event; it was even covered by the local news. The ceremony took place outside Pershing’s 1918 headquarters, now transformed into the Pershing Museum. They toured the museum, and both Gary and Jamy thought it and the Laclede museum were strikingly similar. They even got to see Pershing’s office, which had been restored to its original appearance in 1918. There were even guards in period dress.
“I really enjoyed their Pershing look-alike,” says Gary. “He had the Pershing glare perfect.”
With a sizable display of pictures and artifacts from their trip, Jamy explained that a large amount of the wartime shelters in the area remain intact from the Great War. “It was so interesting to see that some of these shelters look the same as they did back when they were in use,” says Jamy. She went on to explain that it is not uncommon to find grenades or landmines at these sites. It is also not uncommon for these grenades and landmines to remain active. “We were told to leave them alone if we found one,” says Jamy.
See the LCL for the full story
