Dunkirk Greets �Plan� Delegates Gathering For 3-Day Conference At Shorewood Country Club

by Fred McKee

Fifty enthusiastic delegates from communities throughout the United States gathered at Shorewood Country club late this morning as the three-day conference on town affiliations started under the sponsorship of the Dunkirk Society and Operation Democracy Inc.

An additional 30 representatives will arrive this afternoon to participate in sessions tonight, Saturday and Sunday morning.

Escorted to Club

Many of the visitors arrived at the New York Central railroad station shortly before 10 a.m. and were accompanied by a motorcycle escort as the caravan of automobiles moved to the country club.

Rev. Chard Opens Program

The Very Rev. Leslie F. Chard, president of the Dunkirk Society, opened the program at 11 o�clock this morning. Greetings to the delegates from the city of Dunkirk were extended by Councilman Ignatius Fofinski who substituted for Mayor Walter F. Murray who was unable to attend because of ill health.

Mrs. Martha Breasted of Locust Valley, L.I., president of Operation Democracy, extended a welcome on behalf of that organization. �We thought this conference would be an opportunity to do something rather than to sit back and regret what is going on in the world,� she commented.

Mrs. Breasted then introduced her mother, Mrs. Isabella Greenway King, former member of Congress from Arizona, originator of Operation Democracy.

Dunkirk Society Praised

Mrs. King related some of the early work of the organization and told that when the idea was first conceived, representatives had been sent to Dunkirk for information. �The Dunkirk Society was good enough to take us under its wing and Operation Democracy certainly owes it a great deal,� she asserted.

�No one is at this conference unless he or she has three basic qualifications,� Mrs. King continued. �They are initiative, courage to serve, and gratefulness that they live in our kind of country.

�I sincerely hope that this meeting will result in something new that will be lasting,� she concluded.

Charles L. Todd, former Dunkirker who was prominent in the Dunkirk to Dunkerque Day program and is now affiliated with Operation Democracy, discussed the aims of the conference.

�We all feel we invented the town affiliation plan,� he stated, �but after working with it, I frankly don�t know where it began and I frankly don�t care. I feel that in spite of its disadvantages, the 200 or more towns which have adopted the idea cannot be wrong.

U.S. Approves Plan

Mr. Todd read a telegram from Assistant Secretary of State George Allen who expressed regret at his inability to attend. The message contained the endorsement of the state department for the plan.

Dunkirk Benefitted

Wallace A. Brennan, president of the Dunkirk Society, welcomed the delegates at the conference.

�We here today know that to make a friend is to be one,� he said. �It is Dunkirk�s view that the need for relief in Europe is passing, the need for money is growing.

�We believe the operations carried on here have been of more benefit to us than to those overseas. We have learned to pull together. The result is a richer community life for Dunkirk citizens.

�The keynote of this conference,� he continued, �we believe is that our combined experiences demonstrate the true neighborly spirit of America.�

Charles Repert, conference chairman, outlined the meeting�s program and procedure to bring the morning session to a conclusion.

Luncheon Meeting

Joseph Rubenstein, former city attorney and one of the founders of the Dunkirk Society, was chairman of the luncheon meeting which started at 12:30 p.m. in the main dining room. The invocation was delivered by the Rev. Felix Lion who is also active in the Dunkirk Society.

Messages to the conference from notables throughout the United States and Europe were read by Mr. Rubenstein. This session ended with each delegate standing and introducing himself to the assemblage.

The afternoon plenary session began at 2:30 o�clock with Mr. Todd as chairman. Representatives from various communities which have adopted the town affiliation plan were scheduled to relate the experiences of their individual organization.

(Photo is overly dark, but five people standing can be seen) Photo caption: The feasibility of applying the Dunkirk Plan to other cities throughout the nation was being discussed here today. This morning, another large delegation of community representatives from scattered areas in the country arrived and took up their quarters at Shorewood Country club. Some 75 delegates are expected to be on hand when the conference gets fully underway this afternoon. On hand to greet some of the early arrivals was Miss Katherine Drago, secretary of the Dunkirk Society which in conjunction with Operation Democracy, Inc., of New York City, is host to the visitors. Pictured from left to right above are, Miss Drago, Charles Caskell and Mrs. Caskell of Worthington, Minn., Mrs. Willem Cnoop-Coopman and Dr. Cnoop-Coopman of New York city. The latter is the consul general of the Netherlands government.

Dunkirk Observer
11 June 1948