[FAC] French Consul General to visit Fresno's Gratitude Train

[Maria Franco]

Contact:  Alliance Française de Fresno, www.affresno.org
Contact:  Jim Cardella, 485-1321

French Consul General to visit Fresno's Gratitude Train on Tuesday, October
28 - 12 Noon at American Legion Post 509, 3509 N. First St., Fresno, CA
93726

Fresno's Merci Train, also known as the Gratitude Train, which was presented
to the American people by the French people, will be the site of a brief
ceremony and will feature the French Consul General Jean-Francois Mourier.
Alliance Française de Fresno and The Forty and Eight Voyagers Group will be
hosting the Consul General in honoring the friendship between France and the
United States at the site of the train's new location.  The public is
invited to attend and there is no charge for this event.

The trains were originally used to transport soldiers and horses during
World War I, and each car could accommodate forty men or eight horses.  In
an act of gratitude after the war, the French people filled these trains
with gifts and sent them fifty of them to the United States.

Documentary filmmaker Beth Speigel of the World of Thanks organization will
be on hand to film the event.  She has spent the last year tracking down the
trains and is interested in gathering more information about the people who
road on the trains and what has happened to the gifts that were placed in
the trains.

A luncheon in Mr. Mourier's honor will be held at Rousseau's (1PM) in the
Tower District, where he will speak about current French-American affairs.
There is a $15 charge for the event that includes lunch. The public is
invited.

Other Contacts:
Ralph Bivings
Forty & Eight Voyagers Club
559-269-0168

Beth Speigel
World of Thanks
626-791-4336