
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 4, 1994                   TAG: 9410050055
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SUFFOLK                                LENGTH: Medium

`OUR GOVERNOR'S' LIFE DISPLAYED

In any other city, the postcard addressed to ``THE Governor'' probably wouldn't have been delivered. Here, it went to the only logical place: the Cedar Point home of former Gov. Mills Godwin.

The 1993 postcard that urged Godwin to ``Save us from Chuck'' and ``Save us from Ollie'' has become one of hundreds of items put into a new display at Riddick's Folly, a museum in a restored downtown house that dates to the 1830s.

``As far as Suffolk is concerned, he is the only governor,'' said Georgellen Monette, president of Riddick's Folly. ``Mayor Chris Jones calls him simply, `Our governor.''' Godwin, now 79, attended the exhibit's dedication in September.

The idea for the new Mills E. Godwin Jr. Permanent Exhibit began 18 months ago when Godwin asked Monette if Riddick's Folly wanted to display some of his papers and memorabilia.

The board of directors was thrilled, she said, and decided to form a special committee to oversee the project.

As the number of Godwin collectibles grew, Riddick's Folly decided to give them an entire exhibit room. The museum's board hired Robert Francis, a curator at the Virginia Museum in Richmond, to help arrange the items.

The exhibit traces Godwin's life and political career, from his 1914 birth at Chuckatuck to the present.

Godwin is the only two-term governor in modern Virginia history. He was first elected in 1965 as a Democrat, then returned to the Executive Mansion in 1973 as a Republican.

The Godwin display contains, among other things, the Bible used for his first oath of office as governor.

by CNB