By Annabeth Miller, ShowMe Times Editor

Cliff Manlove is a pretty talented guy. He’s travelled around the world, he’s a pilot, a counselor; he rides bikes, likes to snow ski, plays the harmonica and still sings in the church choir. All at the age of 94. He has also created some lovely pieces of stained glass art.

Two of his stained glass art pieces have found their home at the First United Methodist Church. He created a wonderful version of Albrecht Durer’s Praying Hands that hangs in the church Prayer Room. When the congregation dedicated Wesley Hall, Manlove created a stained glass version of the United Methodist Cross and Flame emblem for the new fellowship hall..

But there is another Manlove stained glass creation that receives quite a bit of attention.

Manlove is a dedicated volunteer at the Stars and Stripes Museum, where he has served as board member, board president, and enthusiastic museum supporter. So it was only natural that he would create the Stars and Stripes logo in stained glass. That creation now is featured above the doorway into the museum’s library reading room..

So, in 2002 when former U.S. Senator Bob Dole visited the museum, Manlove had his photo taken with Dole and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.

Now, nearly nine years later, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt stopped and toured the museum - and Manlove again posed for a photo with a United States Senator with his stained glass artwork in the background.

“Some years back I was out in Colorado in Steamboat Springs, and this was a popular hobby. So I just got onto the idea; I got started with it,” Manlove said.  “So I went through a period of intense concentration, and then it got to be too hard to get materials. St. Louis and Memphis were the closest places to get the glass, which made the hobby hard to continue.”

But his talent and knack at his stained glass hobby lives on, admired by visitors at the Stars and Stripes Museum and Library - and by political leaders who visit the Stoddard County museum.

Top Photo:
Cliff Manlove poses with U.S. Senator Roy Blunt during Blunt's recent visit to the Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield, Mo.
SMT Photos by Annabeth Miller