For immediate release
December 11, 1998
Contact: Melissa Forsythe or Mark Pfeiffer

Governor Witnesses Pouring of Millenium Peace Bell

Nantes, France - A volcano of molten bronze, melted to red liquid in three furnaces, is now in the slow process of cooling to create a new tourist attraction for Kentucky, the Millennium World Peace Bell. Governor Paul Patton and about 70 other Kentuckians, many from the northern part of the state, watched from bleachers set up in a foundry in the town of Nantes, in the western Loire region, as the largest free-standing bell in the world began to take shape. The World Peace Bell, primarily a privately funded project, is destined for a permanent home at Newport, Kentucky as part of a Millennium Monument exhibit.

Governor Patton, who led the Kentucky delegation to the shipbuilding town of Nantes for the ceremony, called the pouring of the bell a wonderful experience. "The millennium we’ll be ending was marked by unbelievable and inhumane wars. It’s our hope that the millennium we’ll begin with the ringing of this bell will be one of peace, and this bell will be a world symbol for that new era, as the peace we pray for becomes the norm. " He said that Kentucky’s long relationship with the people of France will only become strengthened by this new project. Governor Patton said the bell could bring many thousands of visitors to Kentucky and become an attraction of world importance.

The bell casting was a big event in France and attracted international attention, as journalists from Europe and the U.S. recorded the process . 100-thousand pounds of bronze was heated in furnaces, to a temperature of 1086 degrees centigrade. The bronze was then poured into three ladles, and into a pit to form the bell. The cooling process will take weeks. Eventually the bell, standing twelve feet by twelve feet and weighing sixty-six thousand pounds, will be shipped to New Orleans, then travel the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to its home at Newport. It will ring in the new century December 31, 1999.

It was a day long celebration in Nantes, as the Kentucky delegation traveled by train from Paris early this morning for the bell casting in a town comparable to the size of Louisville that’s been noted for bronze casting since the 18^th century. The Kentuckians gathered for a luncheon before the trip to the foundry and were hosted later by the Mayor of Nantes at a city hall reception.

Earlier, in Paris, Governor Patton met with tour and travel agency operators, promoting Kentucky as a wonderful destination for travelers from France. "Our beautiful horse country, lakes, and parks offer some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere", the governor said. "Please recommend Kentucky as someplace different for vacationing Europeans." There were almost half a million international arrivals at the Northern Kentucky airport last year, a 20 percent increase over 1996. Governor Patton said he hopes that number will increase as more international travelers find out about the good things Kentucky has to offer.

The governor also attended a ceremony at the Chaillot Palace in Paris, where the President of France, other officials, and Anna Roosevelt paid tribute to her grandmother Eleanor Roosevelt. The event was part of the 50^th anniversary celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed in 1948 in France by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

And the Pattons paid an official visit to Kentucky native and Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Amy Bondurant. The Hickman native is the first Kentucky woman to hold an appointment as an ambassador. Along with her husband, David E. Dunn III and their son, Bondurant has been living in Paris almost a year. The governor told the ambassador, "We’re always proud to see Kentuckians do well and we’re pleased to be able to connect to the international community through you. (PHOTO here)

Saturday Governor and Mrs. Patton will celebrate the third anniversary of the governor’s inauguration. They return Monday to Kentucky. This is the governor’s second tourism and economic development trip to Europe.