The Friendship Train was America’s magnanimous gift of badly needed food collected from the fields and cupboards of everyday Americans to give to Italy and France after World War II. The idea of the Friendship Train was created by Drew Pearson, a syndicated columnist and broadcaster. The Friendship Train crossed the continent in November 1947 beginning its unique journey on November 7th in Los Angeles. The odyssey ended 11 days later having collected $40 million of food. The Friendship Train arrived in New York City to an exciting fanfare, beginning with a parade from the Battery to the New York harbor. A more thorough history of the Train is on the home page of this web site. Although the Friendship Train crossed through only 11 states, every state contributed to it. The idea of food donations for Europeans was popularized at the local level by Mr. Joe Rosenfeld, Jr. on radio station WNOE in New Orleans. He encouraged Louisianans to give generously even though the train itself would not travel through the state. In fact, donating to the Train became so well-known that Eva Peron, wife of the Argentine President, donated $2,500. Louisiana had a unique experience with the Friendship Train in that some of its cargo was transported by ship directly to France. The French government had lent the state a 10,000 ton ship named Maid of Orleans with the intention of transporting contributions from Louisiana placed on this ship to Orleans, France. This contribution was one part of the state’s gifts to Europe. Not all of the Pelican state’s contributions were transported by this ship. A state-wide drive for food resulted in another food collection. The Louisiana Motor Transportation Association sent out 400 trucks to collect donations from every part of the state. This collection was probably enormous. In the Times-Picayune of December 8, 1947, there is a picture of the SS Alawai, which had most likely transported the bulk of Louisiana’s donations, departing from the New York harbor. The mission of the ship was to “. . . relieve some pressure in famine-stricken Italy. . .” and “…will depart for Naples on December 20.” As on most ships departing for Europe with Friendship Train cargo, the SS Alawai had the slogan, “Friendship Train-Food For Our Friends—Viva L’Italia” displayed on its sides. The media in Louisiana has few reports about the Train in their state. The information above is from a Mississippi newspaper. However, Louisiana did receive a thank you from France as did every other state in the United States. The recognition arrived in the form of a boxcar of gifts from France. Louisiana’s boxcar is located at Old Station Capital Museum, 100 North Boulevard, Baton Rouge. The web site, the Mercitrain.org, informs us about another historic adventure.
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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