Columbia’s popular Shelter Gardens have hosted presidents, governors, singers and countless families and children over the past five decades.
Shelter Gardens is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer. It was originally dedicated in August 1975 as MFA Gardens and now spans 56 acres. Shelter hosted a recent celebration at the gardens. Shelter vice president Rick McVeigh credits then-Shelter president AD Sappington for his courage in pushing for the project to be built:
“I mean he led our company through a tough time in the insurance history. And one that we continue to honor every year: we have AD Sappington awards and things that we give out,” Mr. McVeigh says.
Shelter Gardens includes 300 varieties of trees and shrubs and has a waterfall, a garden for the blind, a rock garden and Vietnam veterans’ memorial. Shelter has launched a new interactive feature which is an audio tour. Shelter executives say you are now able to scan QR codes to hear information on specific areas, plant varieties and the historical significance of various monuments and exhibits.
Shelter Gardens has seen at least one presidential visit during its 50-year history. Then-President George Herbert Walker Bush held a picnic table meeting in the gardens in scorching heat in July 1992 with members of the Commission on America’s Urban Families. Shelter vice president McVeigh tells 939 the Eagle that President Bush also met that day in the gardens with Columbia-area families helped by the group:
“He was with Governor (John) Ashcroft at the time. And he met with a group of people to talk about some of the issues within Columbia at that time. He was here for several hours: they set up a table near the schoolhouse,” says Mr. McVeigh.
It was then-Governor John Ashcroft who recommended Shelter Gardens as a meeting place. President Bush also met that day with the late Shelter Insurance President Gus Lehr and with Shelter employees. Mr. Lehr wore a blue sports jacket with the emblem “Shield of Shelter” on it. That was their slogan at the time.
Country music star Sara Evans and many other celebrities have also visited the gardens in the past 50 years.
