The Monroe Current Events Club held the May meeting, May 7, 2008 at the James Monroe Room of the Municipal Building. The room was beautifully decorated with lilacs on the dessert table and on the individual round tables. The hostesses for the day were: Randy Rolich, Gloria Miltenberger, and Joyce Krebs. Pat Beatty assisted by serving the beverages.
The program was on Ruth Bell Graham and was presented by Charlotte Woodson.
Ruth Bell's parents were medical missionaries in China. Ruth was born at Qingjiang north of Shanghai. She was home schooled until the age of 13 when she attended high school in Korea.
She completed her high school education at Montreat, North Carolina. She then attended Wheaton College, where she met Billy Graham. They were married in 1943 after graduation. Although her husband was a Baptist minister, Ruth persisted on being a Presbyterian. When Billy became an evangelist,for Youth for Christ, he did a lot of traveling. The Grahams had five children, Ruth lived in Montreat, North Carolina and took care of the children. She did not like being in the limelight. She did travel with Billy to China.
She designed their home in Montreat on a mountain, and contracted the building, using all the recycled wood that could be found.
Ruth was a philanthropist, author, poet and painter. The day before she died, Billy Graham released this statement, "Ruth is my soul mate and my best friend, and I cannot imagine living a single day without her by my side. I am more and more in love with her today than when we first met over 65 years at Wheaton College." Ruth died June 14, 2007 at her home in Montreat surrounded by her family.
The final meeting of the year will be a picnic, June 4 at the home of Joyce Tannreuther.