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Friday, April 4

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It was just a half hour drive from our motel to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC.

A staff person from the Library came on the coach to orient us to our time there.

The person who would welcome us to Billy’s childhood home was already in place.

The Library is designed to look like a farm. As far as I can tell, the silo is just there to complete that look as there is no door for the public – only for storage and some operating systems.

This is the only time our tour group posed for a photo. A staff person took the picture so I could be on it as well.

I liked the note that said, everyone who enters the library must go through the “foot of the cross”.

There were always attendants at the door – whether we were arriving or leaving.

We were welcomed by a variety of pictures of Billy and a staff person who guided us through the first few displays.

Bessie the robot cow told us a bit about Billy as a young man. Her head and mouth moved with her narrative. She even laughed a few times.

The tails of the cows in the background also moved now and then.

The cat was also a robot and moved its head and tail.

Our next stop was a nearby seating area where we learned about the early part of his life, his studies, preaching and eventually crusades.

His first crusade was September 13-21, 1947, in the Civic Auditorium in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where there were 6,000 people in attendance.

It was the Los Angeles Crusade of 1949 that brought him to the attention of the world.

There was a small tent where we could sit and listen to parts of sermons.

The campaign was scheduled for three weeks but was extended to eight weeks. During the campaign Graham spoke to 350,000 people, and by the end 3,000 of them decided to receive Christ into their lives.

A circus tent that held 6,000 people was erected in a parking lot. It was later enlarged to hold 9,000 and it was still too small.

Many people became interested in hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached by Billy after Stuart Hamblen announced his conversion to Christianity during this crusade, followed by prisoner of war, Louis Zamperini, Jim Vaus (a friend of mobster Mickey Cohen), and actor Harvey Fritz.

After Hamblen’s conversion, William Randolph Hearst sent a telegram to all his newspaper editors to “puff” Graham. As a result, within five days Graham gained national coverage.

The next section featured Billy and Ruth’s marriage and family.

Then we moved to an area that featured many of the famous people who interviewed him.

The presidents he met.

There was a room with lots of memorabilia, including this gun.

You could see and hear Billy preaching no matter where you stood around this large ball.

The room featured many crusades around the world.

This finished the tour before entering Ruth’s Attic Bookstore.

I was fascinated by the statue of the Parable of the Sower in the area of the bookstore.

Billy’s funeral on the grounds of the library.

After the tour of the library, I walked to their burial spots.

George Beverly Shea and Cliff and Billy Barrows are buried nearby in the beautiful garden area.

Walking through the gardens toward the home where Billy grew up.

Most of the home is filled with period furniture to look similar to what it looked like when Billy lived there.

This is a punch bowl that belonged to Billy’s mother.

There are many family photos in the home. I liked this one of Billy’s parents and siblings.

Cerwin and I enjoyed lunch in The Dairy Bar which seats 140. The area includes milk cans and booths that are designed to look like stalls. There are lots of photos on the walls and even the placemats are about Billy’s ministry. The food includes Mother Graham’s chicken salad, The Billy Frank (hot dog), and BBQ which was a favorite of Billy.

We left the library with lots of memories and talked about some of them as we began our trip back to Pennsylvania.