The 1947 Friendship Train in Florida
by Dorothy R. Scheele

The Friendship Train which crossed the country in 1947 is a singular and fascinating event and is considered one of the greatest humanitarian movements in history.  Drew Pearson, the originator of the Friendship Train, [hereafter referred to as FT] was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.  The FT’s cargo was $40,000,000 worth of food destined for the desperate people in Europe.  Its mission was famously successful.  A more complete history of the FT is on the homepage of this web site.

The FT transported its precious cargo to New York harbor where it would be loaded on ships to cross the Atlantic.  In accomplishing this incredible feat absolutely no money had been exchanged for the many, many phases involved: ordinary people and youngsters collected the food; local grocers contributed from their shelves and offered commodities at wholesale; local trucking companies transported all of the food free; train engineers worked for free; stevedores worked voluntarily; and ships transporting the cargo did so gratuitously.  Although people gave money to the FT, it was intended to purchase food and not as payment for any of the services.

Why were such enormous generosity and magnanimous spirit extended toward Europe, specifically France and Italy?

In addition to helping people in dire need, another reason also existed for offering this food to Europeans: namely, political considerations.  Communists were proselytizing the Europeans to accept their style of government.  One method of their attempted persuasion was to bring in railroad cars of grain to give to the people.  They created a huge public fanfare every time they delivered the grain.  Drew Pearson, while noticing the communists’ elaborate scheme, became irate and indignant at their tactics.  Returning to America after an extended period in Europe, Pearson realized that one of the best ways to counter Communism would be for Americans to give food to the Europeans; hence, the notion of the Friendship Train was born.

On October 5th Pearson announced his ideas in his broadcasts and columns.  Only five weeks later the FT was in action.  With great fanfare, strobe lights, train whistles, bands, and movie stars, among them Judy Garland, Shirley Temple, John Wayne, Mickey Rooney, Margaret O’Brien, and Elizabeth Taylor, the FT left Los Angeles. 

Eleven days later the train blasted into New York, greeted with a ticker tape parade and other celebratory happenings.  Some of the railroad cars were transported on New York city streets while the crowds cheered.  Other boxcars were loaded on ships which then passed the Statue of Liberty accompanied by fire boats shooting plumes of water and harbor boats blaring a welcome.  The FT became so large by the time it reached New York that it had to be split into three sections.

Florida’s contribution to this extraordinary event was substantial although ascribed almost completely to south Florida.  Various organizations and individuals headed the food drive.  George C. Price led a special committee to organize Dade County’s food drive.  Associations and unions worked to help the citizenry become aware of the FT.  School principals met to discuss fund raising.  The Central Labor Union met to organize fund raising among their members.  The executive director of the YWCA and YMCA undertook upon himself to raise money from those organizations.  Edward Hill worked among wholesalers to bring them on board. According to Charles M. Wright, all the money collected would be sent to an office in New York which would then buy more food.

As in other states, entertainment became part of the fund raising.  Some communities held dances, some rodeos, some free movies if you brought a can of food.  The Citizens Food Committee of Dade County built a miniature train boxcar and took it to downtown Miami for its first stop; no doubt the little train had bells ringing or whistles to announce its presence.  Upon leaving downtown, the train was taken to other areas, among them Coral Gables, Allapattah, and Little River. By the end of the little train’s journey, it had collected over $2,000.

In Evansville an elementary school teacher helped her class build a miniature train.  She brought boxes and other items to school so her students could build their little train.  The students took turns driving the train from classroom to classroom.  One can easily imagine what great fun this little drama had been for the kids.

Another heart-warming account about donations occurred in Sebring, Highlands County, which contributed 9,000 pints of juice.  This number was over 2,000 more than the town’s population.  Mayor M. F. McCleen and Mrs. Charles Weigle were instrumental in raising funds to buy the juice.  George Macey made a special price for the juice and contributed enough money himself to round out the final donation to 100 cases.

Most likely many other small communities gave to the FT.  Possibly their donations are noted in weekly or monthly publications within their areas.  Whatever the case, the Sunshine State became part of the great Friendship Train movement.

List of Works Consulted

“Friendship Car Gathers Coins To Buy Grain For Europeans” Miami Herald Nov. 25, 1947:  15.
“’Friendship’ Ship Docks With U. S. Food” Miami Herald Dec. 18, 1947: 1.
“Friendship Train Will Help 600,000”  Miami Herald  Dec. 27, 1947:  1.
“Italians Get 30 Tons of Virginia Syrup” Miami Herald Nov. 12, 1947: 16.
“Miami Group Moves To Get Funds For Europeans Relief” Miami Herald Nov. 16, 1947:  2.
“Sebring Presents Juice For Relief” Miami Herald Nov. 23, 1947: 3.
“Through Local Schools and Gets $12.50” Miami Herald Nov. 23, 1947:  6.
“Waste Less, Dade Food Group Asks” Miami Herald  Nov.  7, 1947:  19.
“Sebring Presents Juice For Relief” Miami Herald Nov. 23, 1947: 3.

The author welcomes any additional information which would add to this state's history.

The Friendship Train was the genesis for the French Merci Train. Website www.mercitrain.org has information about that train. Copies of Mr. Bennett's Book The Merci Train, A Big Thank You From the French Merci Train is available at ebennett89@yahoo.com. The price is $25.00 per copy, including postage.

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