THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 4, 1994 TAG: 9410040441
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: SUFFOLK, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
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 E. Godwin Jr.
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.
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.
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 in what used to Nansemond County - now the city of Suffolk - 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.
``Governor Godwin has had such a full life that this is just an overview,'' Monette said. ``It would have been impossible to list all of his accomplishments.''
More than 200 people showed up for the exhibit's dedication last month, including the 79-year-old Godwin and his predecessor, former Gov. Albertis S. Harrison.
``I am very pleased with the way they put it together,'' Godwin said. ``All of it brings back memories, because it's an exhibit that takes into account my whole life.''
One of Monette's favorite items is a baseball bat that spent more time in the mansion than its owner. After receiving the Louisville Slugger at a 1965 governors' conference, Godwin took it back to Richmond, put it in a closet and forgot it.
``It was inadvertently left in my bedroom closet,'' Godwin said. ``And when we came back for my second term, it was still in there.'' by CNB