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The Friendship Train in North Carolina
Dorothy
R. Scheele
The Friendship Train began as
an idea borne
in the mind of Drew Pearson, a well-known broadcaster and columnist in the mid 20th century. While in Europe after World War II,
Pearson noted that Communist Russia was sending a paltry number of boxcars
of grain to Europe in an attempt to persuade those countries to accept
communism as their form of government.
Pearson concluded that the United States could also send food to
Europe. He wanted the American
people, not the government, to send the food, and to that end he and others
organized a train which would cross the country collecting food from the
people. Although the train crossed
only eleven states, every state contributed. (A more thorough history of the
Friendship Train is available on the home page of this web site.)
North Carolina
participated in the Friendship Train food drive with its many counties
across the state combining efforts to donate.
In Guilford County, High
Point and Greensboro were quite active in their food campaign. Members of a committee for raising cash
and foodstuffs for the suffering Europeans were Walter Coble, Chris Knight,
and J. W. Cummings. R. B. Lytle
was in charge of the monetary contributions, and William Cleaver served as
chairman of the drive.
Many of the region’s
clubs and businesses cooperated with raising funds for the milk
purchase. L. R. Medlin lead the Greensboro Interfaith Council. The goal was $3,000, the price of a
carload of milk. Among the
contributors were the Greensboro Women’s Club, other civic clubs, milk
producers, and state granges. Their
initial efforts raised $2,767. The
High Point Chamber of Commerce itself donated $1,200. Surely, they had little difficulty
collecting the final amount needed.
R. G. Lytle, manager of
the North Carolina Milk Production Federation, had accompanied the boxcar
of milk on its journey from Statesville, in Iredell County, where it was
packed at the Carnation Milk Company plant, to Greensboro, in Guilford
County. Charles L. Knight, master of
the Guilford Pomona Grange, presented the milk donation to Dr. Charles
Armstrong, president of the Kiwanis International Club. The boxcar’s destination was either
Cincinnati, Ohio, or New York.
William Cleaver had headed
a committee which had arranged the details of moving the boxcar from
Greensboro to the Friendship Train.
At the ceremony two 3 X 9 feet banners were attached to the
railcar. Wording on the banners was
“Milk contributed by High Point, Greensboro and Guilford County, North
Carolina, To the Friendship Train.”
McDowell County in
western North Carolina had intended to send one car to the Friendship
Train. In addition to the
contributions from Marion, the county seat, Hickory in Catawba County
donated, as did towns in Burke and Caldwell Counties. The original train departure date was
set back one week because of a strike in Norfolk, Virginia, which was the
destination point of that boxcar.
Officials in McDowell County welcomed the strike because it increased
the length of time for collection.
Also, in case citizens could not drop off their contribution at a
designated point, usually a school building, they were urged to send a
financial gift to the Train to either A. F. Beam,
Rev. Harry Wellman, or I. A. McLain.
In Lenoir County in
eastern North Carolina, the Kinston Lions Club, under the guidance of
president F. Lee Edwards, raised $2,500 for the Friendship Train. Chairman Jesse A. Jones was head of the
sponsoring committee which oversaw the work of the volunteers, who went to
county schools to speak of the dire needs of the Europeans. In Lenoir County, local grocers and
wholesalers sold their inventory at ‘rock bottom’ prices, and the grocers
themselves gave generously. Carteret
County’s contributions were part of Lenoir County’s Friendship Train’s
contributions.
In Durham County, the
research triangle, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and Durham, combined efforts for
giving to the Friendship Train. The
fund drive of the University of North Carolina netted $662. Under the direction of Larry Queen,
chairman of the drive on campus, contribution boxes were placed in stores,
the Y, the Chancellor’s office, and other frequented sites. Also, a committee, composed of 21
students in a news writing class, helped to enhance contributions. According to Tuggle
Webster, the campaign chairman for the Friendship Train in Durham, the
boxcar was supposed to arrive in Durham on Friday, November 21st. Consequently, he urged residents to
donate quickly because the car was to be loaded on Sunday. Members of the Durham Cooperative Club
loaded the boxcar.
Carl Fitchett, Sr. knew
that the Friendship Train was not going to stop in the Harnett County city
of Dunn. So, he initiated the campaign in that city. He saw no reason why the city could not
be a part of this nation-wide drive.
Based on the information
available, North Carolina contributed two boxcars to the 1947 Friendship
Train. One destined for either New
York or Cincinnati, Ohio and the other for Norfolk, Virginia. In 1948, the Tar Heel state, like many
other states, continued its efforts to give to the Europeans.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Campaign I on Here For
Friendship Train” Chapel Hill Weekly
Nov. 21, 1947: 1.
“Dunn Has Drive” Rocky Mount Telegram, [Rocky Mount,
North Carolina] Nov. 13, 1947: 13.
“Friendship Train Delayed One Week” Marion Progress Dec. 9, 1947: 8.
“Friendship Train Gifts Leave Today Following
Appropriate Program” Greensboro
Record Nov. 20, 1947: 17.
“Greensboro Loaded
Car For Friendship Train Scheduled To Leave City Thursday” Greensboro Record Nov. 14, 1947: 12.
“Kinston To Aid Hungry Lands” Greensboro Daily News Nov. 20, 1947: 16.
“Loaded Car For
Friendship Train Scheduled To Leave City Thursday” Greensboro Record Nov. 14, 1947: 12.
”Many Donate To Milk Fund” Greensboro Record Nov. 12, 1947: 5.
“Milk For Friendship Train To Be Shipped On Thursday” Greensboro Record Nov. 11, 1947: 17.
“Milk Purchase For Friendship Train Is Likely” Greensboro Record Nov. 13, 1947: 17.
“Plans Readied To Ship Milk” Greensboro Daily News Nov. 19, 1947: 3.
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