Missouri Western State University will dedicate an interactive memorial to one of St. Joseph’s most illustrious native sons, Walter Cronkite.
The public dedication ceremony of the Walter Cronkite Memorial will take place on November 4–what would have been the noted newsman’s 97th birthday.
“Walter Cronkite is probably the most significant journalist of the 20th century,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president.
“Generations of Americans counted on him for reports on major events from World War II to the Kennedy assassination, the Civil Rights movement, the moon landing, Vietnam, Watergate and the Iran hostage crisis,” Vartabedian said. “He was respected by his colleagues and by the people he covered, and I’m pleased that we’re able to honor him in this way.”
Cronkite was born in St. Joseph on Nov. 4, 1916, and remained closely connected to his hometown. In 1969 he returned to St. Joseph for a well-publicized speech to the Chamber of Commerce defending the freedom of the press in the face of pointed media criticism by members of the Nixon Administration.
The public ceremony is scheduled for November 4, 2013 at 10:30 a.m in the atrium of Spratt Hall, Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, Missouri. Other activities scheduled that day include a luncheon featuring Cronkite’s cousin, former Kansas City Mayor Kay Cronkite Barnes, at 11:30 a.m. and an open house from 1 to 6 p.m.
The public ceremony on Nov. 4 will be free and open to the public. The luncheon will cost $20
The Walter Cronkite Memorial will feature a large artwork designed by Eric Fuson and David Harris, faculty members in Missouri Western’s Department of Art. The wall-hanging features 39 images of momentous events covered by Cronkite. An accompanying video kiosk will allow visitors to see and hear Cronkite’s coverage of these events.
The memorial will also feature a photo collage and timeline of Cronkite’s life with a second video kiosk, a tribute to his wife, Betsy. A panoramic photo collage will highlight Cronkite’s close association with the U.S. space program. The exhibit will also feature a replica of a World War II glider that crash landed behind enemy lines with the famed newsman aboard.