FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rick Collin
December 18, 2007                                                                                    
(701) 328-1476

FRENCH GRATITUDE TRAIN EXHIBIT COMPLETED AT NORTH DAKOTA HERITAGE CENTER;
FEATURED ON STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY WEBSITE

BISMARCK – A new exhibit surrounding the French Gratitude (Merci) Train boxcar has been recently completed.  The boxcar, known as a “forty and eight,” was originally designed to carry 40 men or eight horses.  Filled with gifts, it was given to the people of North Dakota as a “thank you” from the people of France in 1949, and has stood on the state capitol grounds in Bismarck since.  Similar cars went to the other 48 states, with the District of Columbia and the Territory of Hawaii sharing one.

The exhibit was produced by the state’s history agency, the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND).  The exhibit is located in two areas – at the boxcar site on the state capitol grounds and at the nearby North Dakota Heritage Center.

Another component of the new exhibit is a website telling the history of the French Gratitude Train in rich and colorful detail.  The website includes an interactive exhibit with the history of North Dakota’s own boxcar, photographs of some 500 objects from the boxcar, information about each shield found on the exterior of the boxcar, and links to related sites.  The interactive exhibit is located at the SHSND’s website at www.nd.gov/hist/fgt/index.html.

A covered shelter for the boxcar, resembling a European train station, was completed in 2005, and the boxcar was then cleaned and repaired.  Some of the oak on the doors was replaced due to rot.  A coat of fresh paint helps display the 40 reproduced shields representing each of the French provinces.  SHSND Graphic Services Coordinator Brian Austin spent many hours reproducing each shield as authentically as possible, based on early photographs of the train and research on some of the other 48 boxcars.  Also reproduced are the large banners on each side, the Merci train logo, and a presidential seal.

Additionally, new interpretive signs surround the boxcar site. “We created flip-books with four provinces on each page, showing the province represented on a map of France, its shield, an interpretation of the shield or its components, and phonetic pronunciations,” said Austin.

Included in each boxcar were hundreds of personal gifts from the French people to the American people.  Designed to thank Americans for their aid before and after World War II, the gifts to North Dakotans included hand-crocheted doilies and lace collars, a jeweled Legion d’Honneur once presented to Napoleon Bonaparte, wooden shoes, a bottle of liquor bearing a handwritten message “To your health – Good luck! America,” dolls and toys, books, cigarettes, children’s drawings, and even a Limoge brooch.  Many have the donor’s name and address attached, and messages to individual Americans they hoped would receive them.  They are examples of daily life, childhood, historic treasures, and personal mementos of the French civilian population that endured World War II.

An exhibit in the Hall of Honors at the North Dakota Heritage Center displays some of the gifts, along with text and photographs telling the story of the French Gratitude Train.  A computer kiosk will link visitors to the SHSND website at www.nd.gov/hist.

The renovation of the boxcar, including its shelter, was funded by La Societe Des 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux organizations, a Save America’s Treasures grant from the National Park Service, and appropriations from the North Dakota Legislative Assembly.

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