The visit to Melton Mowbray by a delegation of members of the Sister Cities Association of Clarksville, Indiana during the first week of October 2000 was proof paramount of the efficacy of the Internet as a medium of communication and its ability to form and cement international relationships.
This "in person" link originated through our Twinning Association's Chairman, John Rudman and his wife Dinah corresponding by e-mail with the then Sister Cities Association (SSA) President Lynn Lewis and her husband Ray for over a year.
Lynn and Ray had found the MeltonWeb site a valuable point of reference in their study of Melton Mowbray.
The 20 American visitors were hosted by the Melton Mowbray & District Twinning Association who organised an action-packed programme to show their guests as many aspects of Melton life as possible within the space of a few hours. Of necessity the visit was relatively brief as it was part of a week-long trip which included London and Birmingham for the main party - but five of the Clarksville citizens stayed in Melton for an additional day and were accommodated by local twinning enthusiasts.
The party split into groups to visit different places, among them Brooksby Melton College, the Library, Police Station, historic buildings, parks and sports facilities of Melton Mowbray Town Estate, and Melton Upper School. Those interested in the media considered the role of local newspapers and made a broadcast on Melton's Community Radio station TWC FM.
Gifts were exchanged at a Civic Reception held at Melton Borough Council Offices on Friday 6th October hosted by Melton Mayor Councillor Nigel Angrave -
No visit to this area at this time of the year would be complete without rain and following visits to our Market, St. Mary's Church (where John Rudman was able to explain our much travelled Millennium Quilt at close quarters to John Gilkey and Lynn Lewis):
This included a look at Belvoir Castle and Harlaxton Manor, the British campus of the American University of Evansville which is not far from Clarksville. John Gilkey took the opportunity to photograph the local establishment doubtless to show them back at Headquarters!
Before the party left Melton for the remainder of their trip local Twinning Association members Eric and Beryl Young gave a farewell party at which Lynn Lewis said "This has been a wonderful, special experience and we could not have been made more welcome. We were very interested to see the town, which is similar in size to Clarksville and also in an agricultural area" and Mr. Rudman confirmed that the visit had been a great success, enjoyed by all. Special gifts were presented to Mr. and Mrs. Rudman by Kathleen Rosga SSA Member and Mrs. Lewis.
Time then for one final photo-stop - we see here hosts and guests mingling in their new-found friendships before the coach leaves - and an obvious determination to further the twinning exchanges is clearly the order of the day.
Clarksville has eleven parks located in the town with a variety of activities, including softball, tennis, basketball, shelters and playgrounds. A walking, jogging, biking trail was ready for use in the spring of 2000. Wooded View Golf Course is one of the busiest 18-hole courses in the metropolitan area. The Clarksville Family Aquatic Center is an award-winning facility that attracts thousands each summer.
A most excellent source of current and background information as to happenings, events, life and news is always a local newspaper - in the case of Clarksville you can obtain The Evening News (Senior Editor John L. Gilkey who of course visited Melton) and The Tribune and The Courier Journal of Louisville from which you may glean much of interest from browsing its website and of course learn more about our friendly "Internet neighbours".
The United States has launched its biggest historical celebrations in over a quarter of a century to commemorate the expedition of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark - the pioneers who went from Missosuri to the Pacific and back by river. Their "Corps of Discovery" assembled in Louisville and history details their exciting adventures. Currently Louisville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Indiana are hosting the second of fifteen National Signature Events commemorating the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. The Festival will be held October 14th through the 26th. William Clark and Meriwether Lewis left from Clarksville on October 26, 1803 and there is much detail to be found on the internet via the LEWIS and CLARK DEDICATED PAGE
Harlaxton Manor too have an excellent coverage on the World Wide Web which includes the history of the property and a fully documented section relative to the filming there of "The Haunting" in which Harlaxton Manor "starred" as its "Hill House" The developing pages for Harlaxton College itself already contain a wealth of academic material including many fascinating Alumni Recollections.
And to revisit Brooksby Melton College is simple from its name hereby given as a link.