A tour at Michigan City’s Barker Mansion on April 7 at 6:15 pm titled From Opposite Shores: Young Titan and Midwest Millionaire will explore the correlation between one of Britain’s most notable Prime Ministers and one of the American Midwest’s wealthiest industrialists. Winston Churchill and John Barker may have lived shores apart, but comparisons will be gained by looking at their failures and successes within their personal and public lives. Guests will experience the Barker Mansion’s efficacious innovative additions in the form of electricity, plumbing and heating during the time frame of 1901-1915. The tour will lead participants through the back rooms of the mansion, including the former servant’s quarters, basement, and archive room. The tour stop in the archives will feature a look at newspaper articles, photos and more related to the time period. Woven throughout the tour will be comparisons between the two notable men. Cost is $10 per person and reservations are required via Eventbrite or by calling the mansion at (219) 873-1520 ext. 5.
The special tour was inspired by author Michael Shelden’s work on Churchill. Shelden, a Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestseller, will present a free talk on his latest book prior to the tour. His work, Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill, has been widely praised on both sides of the Atlantic. Shelden’s talk is sponsored through a grant from Indiana Humanities, and will begin at 4 pm. Registration is not necessary for the talk, but only the tour.