Exhibits at the Institute
The Darby Gallery
On first entering the building, visitors find themselves in the Darby Gallery, a gift of former Kansas United States Senator Harry Darby's family. An 11-by-19-foot red granite floor map of the state of Kansas, embellished with three bronze insets signifying landmarks which are associated with Dole early career--the Russell County Courthouse, the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, and the University of Kansas in Lawrence--greets visitors as they enter the Gallery.
Dream Theater
On the north wall of the Darby Gallery are two large-scale photographic images. One depicts the tiny three-room house beside the railroad tracks in Russell, Kansas, where Senator Dole was born on July 22, 1923; the other evokes undergraduate life at KU shortly after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Between these photos is a three-dimensional reproduction of Russell's Dream Movie Theater marquee, a symbolic window on the world for young Bob Dole, who often attended the theater's Saturday matinees and late night "Owl Shows."
Beneath the marquee, a four-and-a-half-minute video presentation introduces visitors to Dole's early years. It vividly recalls the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, culminating in Dole's arrival in Lawrence as a member of the University of Kansas Class of 1945, one of many young men and women whose studies were to be cut short by World War II.
On the right wall of the Darby Gallery, the 22-foot, stained glass Russell Window, given by Senator Dole in memory of his parents, Doran and Bina Dole, rises to the ceiling. This work of art evokes the landscape of the Dole's hometown of Russell, Kansas, and that of many similar western prairie towns. Below the window, a reading rail displays photographs and text tracing Senator Dole's Kansas roots, and includes the first of several “Kansas Way” sidebars. This one examines the historic significance of women in Kansas' political life, from the nation's first popularly-elected female mayor, to Carrie Nation and current Governor Kathleen Sebelius.
Turning to the right, another striking Kansas “portrait” presents itself: the WW II Memory Wall. This photomontage displays over 1,000 images of Kansans who either fought in World War II or served on the home front. The Memory Wall grew out of Senator Dole’s desire to honor his late brother, Kenny, and other Kansans who fought overseas or worked for the war effort at home. Public response to the Memory Wall was so overwhelming that the Wall was doubled in size and a computer kiosk was added. The kiosk, located beneath the Memory Wall and easily accessible to visitors, currently holds over 3,000 individual and group images.
Hansen Hall
Leaving the Darby Gallery, visitors enter Hansen Hall, named for the Dane G. Hansen Foundation of Logan, Kansas. This dramatic 3,300 square foot space is encircled by 20 separate exhibits. The Hall serves as a visitor's hall, a public forum, and a venue for meetings and elegant dinners.
The south end of Hansen Hall is defined by two prominent symbols of America: a soaring, 29-foot tall stained glass American flag window, and two eleven and a half foot steel columns which were salvaged from the World Trade Center and presented to Senator Dole by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in thanks for Dole's work on the 9/11 Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund. KU alumni Forrest and Sally Hoglund of Dallas, Texas, donated the flag window, each piece of which was designed, fired and assembled in America. It is thought to be the largest stained glass American flag in the world."
To the left of the flag, the first glass exhibit case titled "WW II: The Last Great Offensive" re-tells the story of Bob Dole's speedy journey from Army basic training at Camp Barkley, Texas to the Allied push to the north on the Italian front during the waning months of the war. As a replacement 2nd Lieutenant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division, Dole was critically wounded on the morning of April 14, 1945 on Hill 913 near the tiny village of Castel D'Aiano. His battle to survive and return to Russell began here.
Moving toward the North end of Hansen Hall, the Simons Family Media Room is on the left. This large well-used seminar room is configurable for conferences, meetings, and overflow seating from Hansen Hall events, and combines media broadcast and state-of-the-art audiovisual technology.
An exhibit case immediately to the right of the Simons Family Media Room holds Senator Dole's World War II uniform, dog tags, and Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Adjacent is an exhibit titled "Fighting Back" and a six-minute video segment, depicting both Dole's injury on April 14, 1945, and his three-year recovery and rehabilitation in Veterans Administration hospitals. The homemade exercise equipment that Doran Dole made for his son's use in rebuilding his shattered body hangs on the exhibit case wall. For 55 years it remained fixed to a backyard fence at the Dole home in Russell, before being moved to the Dole Institute.
Between 1946 and 1949, a remarkable Chicago surgeon named Hampar Kelikian (“Dr. K”) performed seven operations at no cost to the Dole family, but there were still hospital bills which the family could not afford. The people of Russell established the Bob Dole Fund, and ultimately raised over $1,800. The "You’ll Never Walk Alone" exhibit case contains the original cigar box that friends placed in a Russell drugstore window, in order to assist with efforts to defray his postwar medical expenses. For over forty years, Senator Dole kept the cigar box in his Washington desk.
"A Light In The Window" refers to Dole’s eight years as Russell County attorney, during which his work ethic – symbolized by the sole light burning in the county courthouse late on a Friday night – foreshadowed the grueling political campaigns to come.
"Roll with Dole" introduces visitors to the revolutionary impact of television on campaigns and elections, beginning in 1960 with both the Kennedy-Nixon debates and Dole's own first successful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. A video presentation contrasts modern media campaigns with Dole's shoestring effort, in which tireless door-to-door canvassing was supplemented by Dole pineapple juice served up by “Dolls for Dole”. Supporters hoped that voters would distinguish between Dole and rival candidate named Doyle if they were served from cans with the familiar Dole label. Dole won the Republican primary race by narrowly defeating both Doyle and Keith Sebelius, a former American Legion commander from Norton, Kansas. After the votes were counted, Sebelius gamely told his victorious opponent that he had been “drowned in pineapple juice!”
"Man of the House" covers Dole's eight years in the House of Representatives (1961-1969). It was an era when staffs were small, congressmen answered every letter personally, and volunteers in the sprawling First Congressional District sewed red felt badges and taffeta sashes to wear at Dole campaign rallies at county seats.
"The Senator" begins with Dole's 1968 election to replace retiring Senator Frank Carlson, another legendary figure whose career is briefly outlined in a “Kansas Way” insert. This case also details Dole's friendship with newly elected President Richard Nixon and his staunch support of the Nixon administration. Bob Dole's upbringing, his remarkable survival through WW II, and his commitment to public service allowed him to rise to the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, the pinnacle of leadership within the Republican Party.
"Bob and Elizabeth" contrasts the light and dark sides of the Watergate complex, which became both Senator Dole's Washington residence and a synonym for the political scandal which led to the downfall of the Nixon presidency. 1974 was a disastrous year for the GOP. Dole himself barely won re-election to the Senate. The experience made him more eager to reach across the political aisle, forming alliances – and friendships – with Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern. Following his divorce in 1973, Dole met Elizabeth Hanford of North Carolina, then an attorney and Nixon's Federal Trade Commissioner. In December, 1975, the couple was married.
"On the National Stage" recalls the 1976 campaign, when Senator Dole was unexpectedly chosen to be President Gerald R. Ford's vice-presidential running mate. The campaign got off to an emotional start in Russell. Dole, thinking back to the times when his neighbors rallied to his aid through the Bob Dole Fund, struggled to hold back tears. On a lighter note, the presidential party waited on the Dole family doorstep (see exhibit's welcome mat) when the candidate's mother forgot where she had placed her house key. Eventually Elizabeth Dole discovered the missing key in the downspout.
"The Reagan Revolution": Following Ronald Reagan's inauguration in 1981 and the Republican takeover of the Senate, Dole was elevated to the chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee. His new job gave him oversight of all tax legislation, Social Security, trade issues and more. Working closely with the White House, he helped craft the Reagan tax and spending cuts which led to the economic boom of the 1980s.
"The Deal Maker: Behind Closed Doors" probes the way Washington D.C. really works. The issue in question is Social Security, threatened early in the 1980s with insolvency. Teaming up with Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, Dole spearheaded an eleventh hour compromise that preserved the system and solidified his growing reputation as a legislative craftsman.
"Under The Dome." Here visitors stand before a large replica of the Capitol Dome in Washington and watch a multi-screen video “tour” of the legislative process, narrated by Senator Dole. Created as a dramatic introduction to Congress and its sometimes mysterious ways of blocking or passing legislation, this exhibit contains archival footage spanning the years of Lyndon Johnson's presidency and passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act through an emotional Dole retirement speech on June 11, 1996.
"Majority Pleader" takes visitors further inside the corridors of the Senate, where Dole was elected Majority Leader in December, 1984. He would hold the job for over eleven years. When television cameras began to broadcast Senate sessions for the first time, Dole became a fixture on C-SPAN and Senate debate and roll calls entered millions of American living rooms.
"The Go To Guy." Not withstanding his unsuccessful presidential primary campaign in 1988, Dole became one of President George H.W. Bush's strongest allies on Capitol Hill. He pressed for Senate endorsement of U.S. military action to eject former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from Kuwait and celebrated when his Americans With Disabilities Act became the law of the land.
"The World According To Dole" showcases a spectacular array of gifts from international heads of state and others whom Dole met in the course of his travels. These diverse tributes and works of art include Poland's Solidarity Union Medallion and carved tribal figures from Africa, a silver prayer bowl presented to the Senator by the Dalai Lama and an elaborate Russian porcelain tea server.
The doorway to the left of the case holding these exquisite gifts opens into the Institute's Reading Room. With the assistance of two Institute archivists, historians, scholars, and students of all ages make use of Senator Dole's House of Representatives and Senate papers, view audiovisual materials, and utilize a large collection of secondary-source materials. The Dole Papers and related material in various formats are permanently housed in the Institute's lower level, where they fill roughly two miles of steel shelving in a 9,000 square foot, climate controlled secure environment.
Leaving the Reading Room, visitors approach "A Final Mission." In 1992, President George H.W. Bush is defeated by former Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. Following national elections in 1994, a Republican takeover of both houses of Congress makes Dole once more Senate Majority Leader, creating an opportunity to claim the Republican presidential nomination in 1996. One moving image displayed here shows President Clinton, along with WW II veterans Bob Dole, Senators Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Ernest Hollings (D-SC) and Claibourne Pell (D-RI) visiting an American cemetery in Normandy on the 50th anniversary of the historic landings that freed Europe from Nazi tyranny.
"The Most Optimistic Man In America.” Dole's optimism proved well-founded when it came to winning the GOP presidential nomination. The fall campaign against a popular president leading a strong economy and possessing near-legendary campaign skills proved unsuccessful. The result was defeat, but with a surprise: three days after his loss at the polls, Dole was back, this time in a very different role. He appeared on David Letterman's late night talk show, and once again captured American attention with his well honed Kansas wit.
The French Legion of Honor dates back to Napoleon's time. On behalf of the Government of France, Ambassador to the United States Jean-David Levitte awarded former Senator Bob Dole the French Legion of Honor on November 17, 2005. This exhibit displays the prestigious medal, given in honor of Senator Dole's military service, given at a time when France's freedom was threatened. Ambassador Levitte noted at this ceremony that, as the 10-year anniversary of the Dayton Accords approached, meetings between French President Chirac and then-Majority Leader Dole were critical in effecting peace in Bosnia.
"Statesman/Pitchman." Bob Dole's life since 1996 has taken many turns. The Medal of Freedom presented to him by President Clinton in January, 1997 is displayed here, along with the nameplate from his dressing room at the Tonight Show, the storyboard for a popular Visa Card commercial, and a video capturing the former Senator's humorous side – right down to his legendary Pepsi Super bowl commercial, co-starring Britney Spears.
The Thayer Award is the United States Military Academy's highest civilian award. West Point commanders presented this saber and sheath on September 29, 2004, in recognition of Senator Dole as a citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest best exemplify the Academy's motto of “Service, Honor, Country.”
“Politics as an Honorable Profession:” This concluding display highlights another part of the Dole legacy – images of the most recent distinguished guests and programming events held at the Dole Institute of Politics itself. The photos in this exhibit are continuously updated to reflect the excitement and currency of the Institute's forums and study groups, all of which are focused on student and citizen discussion and involvement in our country's political process.
