Politics

Remembering Margaret Thatcher’s Missouri Visit

St. Louis Public Radio | By Mary Edwards,

Published April 17, 2013 at 5:10 PM CDT

In 1996, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, the same place where almost 50 years earlier, Winston Churchill delivered his famous “Iron Curtain” speech. During her visit, Thatcher gave a speech that still has relevance today, especially in light of the continuing threat of nuclear weapons by North Korea.

Shawn Poore, now Director of Development at the University of Missouri College of Engineering, was a senior at Westminster College in 1996 and served as Thatcher’s guide on her tour of the campus, including the National Churchill Museum. Fulton Police Lieutenant Lyla Robbins provided security for the former Prime Minister during her stay.

On the day that Thatcher was laid to rest, “St. Louis on the Air” host Don Marsh introduced a segment of her Westminster speech and then spoke with Poore and Robbins about their remembrances of her visit.Excerpt of Margaret Thatcher's 1996 speech in Fulton and Don Marsh's interviews with Shawn Poore and Lieutenant Lyla Robbins

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Mary Edwards

Mary Edwards came to St. Louis Public Radio in 1974, just after finishing her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has served the station in a number of capacities over the years, and is currently Production Manager. In addition to overseeing all the production activities at the station, she is the producer of St. Louis Public Radio’s two local talk/call-in shows, “St. Louis on the Air” and “Cityscape,” and the live Saturday night broadcasts of the St. Louis Symphony. Mary also teaches an undergraduate class in radio production at Webster University and serves as Secretary of the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Fine Arts and Communication Alumni Board. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the flute, participating in various music activities at her church, and water skiing.

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Alex Heuer

Alex Heuer joined St. Louis Public Radio in 2012 and is the executive producer of St. Louis on the Air. Alex grew up in the St. Louis area. He began his public radio career as a student reporter at Tri States Public Radio in Macomb, Illinois and worked for a few years at Iowa Public Radio. Alex graduated summa cum laude from Western Illinois University with a degree in history and earned a teaching certificate in 6 - 12th grade social studies. In 2016, he earned a Master of Public Policy Administration with a focus in nonprofit organization management and leadership from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has won local and national awards for reporting and producing and his stories have been featured nationally on Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

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Don Marsh

Don Marsh served as host of St. Louis Public Radio’s “St. Louis on the Air" from 2005 to 2019, bringing discussions of significant topics to listeners' ears at noon Monday through Friday. Don has been an active journalist for 58 years in print, radio and television. He has won 12 Regional Emmy Awards for writing, reporting, and producing. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, was inducted into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame in 2013, and named “Media Person of the Year” by the St. Louis Press Club in 2015. He has published three books: his most recent, “Coming of Age, Liver Spots and All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old,” “Flash Frames: Journey of a Journeyman Journalist” and “How to be Rude (Politely).” He holds an honorary Doctor of Arts and Letters degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

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