Happy Birthday, Harry!
Cuba, Missouri honors Missouri’s President.
Today is Harry Truman Day in Missouri, and Viva Cuba joins the rest of the state in this special state commemoration.
Truman came to Cuba in 1940 when he was campaigning for the senate. In David McCullough’s book Truman it states that in late July, 1940 Truman wrote to his wife Bess about visiting Cuba while he was on the campaign trail.
There are also local details that were published about Truman’s visit to Cuba and the site of the Methodist Church on Route 66. This information has been published in previous blogs about his visit.
Here’s the story:
Harry Truman couldn’t figure out why people wouldn’t stop to listen to his speech when he stood on a Coca-Cola box on the steps of the Methodist Church along Rt. 66. They just kept passing him by while he was electioneering for a senate seat.
He was told by local officials that they were passing him to attend the “Homecoming,” which was what the County Fair was called then. He said that he would attend the fair as well and went to the fair and made his speech. Legend has it that he had to pass the hat for money to continue to the next town.
Viva Cuba chose the wall adjacent to the building that used to be the Methodist Church to paint this scene in a mural. The building has reverted back to its original name of Wallace House, a historical Cuba home. Four-H symbols are used in the mural because the 4-H organization was 100 years old when the mural was painted, and the 4-H organization is important to Crawford County kids.
Today, and every day in Cuba, we honor our Missouri president Harry Truman.
Visitors to Cuba, get a double dose of history on the corner of Smith Street and historic Route 66.
For more photos and history of the Wallace House, see “125 years old and still beautiful Wallace House…then and now…”
For more information on Harry S. Truman visit the site of the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum.
See “5 Tips to get more out of your trip to Cuba, Missouri.”
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