Gifts from France not forgotten

Mary Covington could barely contain her excitement recently as she showed off the various gifts sent to Nevada by citizens of France 60 years ago in the aftermath of World War II.

"They had nothing to give, but they sent the most precious things they had," said the research assistant with the Nevada State Museum. "And the letters they wrote were incredible.

"This wasn't through the government, this was people to people. Imagine trying to go through your house to find something to send, and then writing a note of thanks. It's incredible."

Convington is speaking of the Merci Train, shipped to America from France as a thank you for the Friendship Train Project of 1947 " 700 trainloads of food and clothing sent by Americans to France during World War 11.

The 49-boxcar line from France wound its way through the U.S. with Carson City receiving Nevada's boxcar to much fanfare on Feb. 23, 1949, said Covington.

School was out on that day, and people from across the state joined the governor and a representative of the French Embassy in welcoming the hundreds of gifts of gratitude.

The Nevada State Museum, funded by a $4,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities specifically for the purpose of cataloguing the Merci Train, has begun the Merci Project, searching for Nevadans who were involved in the Friendship Train project in 1947.

They're looking for anyone who has memories of the arrival of the Merci Train boxcar in 1949, or who may have been a recipient of some of the many items contained that were handed out to residents of Nevada.

"We hope to reach out to the community for people who remember the arrival of the boxcar and interview them about their memories of the Merci Train and American and French relations following World War II," said Sue Ann Monteleone, museum registrar.

The project will research the collection of gifts that arrived on the Merci Train and will involve translating a some of the notes and connecting them to the gifts.

Thus far, said Covington, they've been able to match up letters with 25 of the 200 items in the state's custody.

They found one author, Marcel Leandri, now 70, in Marcelle France.

Leandri remembered clearly writing a letter of thanks to America when he was 10 years old and enclosing his prized collection of more than a dozen French toy soldiers.

Covington said Leandri was surprised that his gift was not received by an American child.

"He couldn't understand why a little boy didn't have them," she said.

"But we explained to him that they were a part of a huge exhibit where many, many people enjoyed them," added Monteleone, "and they'll be enjoyed again."

Nevada's original boxcar was restored in 1994, and a sample of the gifts can be seen at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. Many more of the gifts are stored in the Nevada State Museum's collections, and the museum plans to display them in future

exhibits developed from their Merci Project research.

Currently Aurelie Delaissez Forstall and Veronique Chacon, both of French origin, are helping research, translate and interpret the Merci Train letters and gifts.

"They have both contacted friends and family in France who are eager to help find some of the original donors," said Monteleone.

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the arrival of Merci Train, the museum is designing a medallion. The medallion will incorporate the symbol of the Merci Train and will be minted on Coin Press No. 1 this spring.

"I think lost in the pages of time is the historical friendship between France and America," said Covington. "There was a real bond there at one time."