America's National Churchill Museum official tours Malden Historical Museum

MALDEN, Mo. - An official from Fulton's National Churchill Museum Saturday toured a city gem.

Malden High School Class of 2019 grad Derek Brown, who interned at the Stars and Stripes Museum at Bloomfield as a college student, and who now works at America's National Churchill Museum on the Westminster College campus at Fulton, dropped by the Malden Historical Museum, where he reviewed displays, critiqued artifacts and educated museum board members.

Brown, who earned a degree in Museum Curating, was impressed with many of the facility's holdings, and explained in depth the importance of a number of exhibits.

In particular, Brown was delighted by a letter penned in 1869 by a woman whose aim was enticing a Civil War soldier to return home, and an original Vietcong propaganda poster.

“This really is something,” Brown said of the letter. “Here, we see clearly into the past.

“This lady is telling her family member that there is plenty of good ground to farm,” he added. “If he fought bloody conflicts, chances are he'd seen scorched earth and land that wasn't friendly to him. So fertile farm land was a plus, and a really valid reason to come home.”

Brown inspected the letter sentence by sentence and brought history to life for Malden Historical Museum Pres. David Black and other board members.

“She also tells him about great food being abundant,” Brown said. “'Flour is $5 a barrel',” he read. “Many soldiers in the Civil War didn't have access to good food and got by on what they could find,” he added. “Sometimes they might have had primitive MREs. One way a soldier's morale was kept high was by feeding them good food, and that probably was a scarcity for him. So the promise of really good food certainly was great news for him, and another reason to return home from wherever this letter found him.”

And Brown pointed out perhaps the letter's most significant reason for a soldier to return from front-line battles.

“Fine women,” Brown said. “Here we see this lady enticing her male relative home by telling him there are many fine women available in the area.

“Not just for him,” he continued. “But for his brothers and cousins, too. This man probably hadn't been comforted in the arms of a woman in a very long time. And if he were married, he might've received a 'Dear John' letter while he was away from his wife and family. This letter is a fantastic example of everyday life during the era, and is something this museum should be proud to display.”

The Vietcong propaganda art was a real surprise for Brown, who marveled at the vivid colors and messages a particular poster conveyed.

“This really is something the museum might consider sharing with museums in larger cities,” he said. “The artist depicted the fierce nature of a war-torn people.

“It says in no uncertain terms 'Attack us and we'll destroy you,'” Brown added. “'We'll kill you and put your severed head on a pike for all to see.' Museums, say in Kansas City or Saint Louis, or other metropolitan locations that would have Vietnam War-era exhibitions probably would be extremely interested in displaying this piece.”

Brown suggested ways the museum could advance in importance, and said students at area schools would benefit from tours and special events.

The Malden Historical Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, and is supported entirely by donations.

The museum is located at 201 N. Beckwith St. at Malden.

For more information, see the museum's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/maldenmuseum/, or its website at maldenmuseum.com.