Over 150 community members attended the recent dedication ceremony at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, commemorating the completion of the Merci Train storyboard project. 

The Sons of the American Revolution presented colors led by Stan Marks, color guard commander. Arizona director of the Boxcar 40 & 8 Society Doug Adamson led in the Pledge of Allegiance and Fountain Hills resident and Questers State President Alice Helton led in singing the American National Anthem.

Guy Benoit, a retired French aeronautical engineer and lecturer at Arizona State University, led in singing the French National Anthem.

The ceremony welcomed 99-year-old Veteran Bill Shutte, husband of Questers member Beverly Trepp Schutte and Nathan Fidel, honorary consul of France to Arizona. The Rev. Dr. Mary Katherine Northrup of Community Church of the Verdes offered a prayer.

The ceremony welcomed Questers members from Arizona, Ohio, Virginia, Arkansas, Montana, Pennsylvania and  Washington.

Questers Four Peaks #1207 President Nell Bigley welcomed attendees, Immediate Past Questers International President Pam Todd provided a historical account of the Merci Train and current Questers International President Daphne Davis gave a historical account of the Questers.

After remarks by the museum supervisor and history coordinator at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, Susan Armanovs, the program concluded with “What’s Next” by Betsy Stambaugh, Questers Four Peaks treasurer and Merci Train chair.

The ceremony ended with “Riding the Rails of Friendship” and a Historic Marker Dedication Ceremony by Arizona state president of the Children of the American Revolution, Elizabeth Young.

What’s next?

Four Peaks Questers is currently raising funds to provide three historical books in the hands of the youth via libraries and middle schools in Maricopa County.

The books are “Boxcar Diplomacy: Two Trains That Crossed an Ocean,” by Jane Sweetland; “The Friendship Train of 1947: America’s Christmas Gift to Europe” by Linda Baten Johnson; and “The Merci Train Wedding Dress,” also by Johnson, a former eighth grade teacher.

One of the core standards in Arizona State Seventh Grade Integrated Global Studies is the study of World War I and World War II, including the primary and secondary sources of written and oral histories, images and artifacts, according to a press release.

The Friendship and Merci Train story fits well into this study as students learn the relationships and interactions between cultures across the world and how the United States’ history intersects with global issues, the release said.

To donate to this cause or for further information, contact Nell Bigley at 480-710-7073 or by email at nellbgl@gmail.com or Betsy Stambaugh at 630-728-9653 or by email at betsystambaugh@gmail.com.