An Opportunity to be Better - Documents




Gift on Way From Kansas to Village in France.

Morganville Again in Santa Role

For the third time Christmas has reached across the seas from Morganville, Kan., to Feves, France.

Two years ago in August, townspeople of Morganville adopted the village of Feves thru Operation Democracy, a division of UNESCO. Both towns are about the same size, and both are farming communities. While Feves raises cattle and grapes, selling milk and wine, the Kansas town exports wheat and corn, and cattle on the hoof.

For the first year, Kansans sent food, clothing and school supplies and in the spring garden seed. After that season's planting, they received a note from the French which read: "Thank you very much for the lift. We are on our own now."

MRS. VELMA. CARSON, one of the leaders in the plan, said: "Now we are on a more polite basis. We are friends and we try to write letters, but it is hard because of the languages. Some of us are studying French and some of them are learning English, so we get along.

"We hope to bring their schoolmasters over here some day and that is why we want to learn French."

Each year Morganville holds a Noel party and the money gained is used to buy a gift for Feves. In past years they have bought the gift and shipped it to France, but this year they sent the money to Paris, so someone there can buy it.

"Our gift this year is to the school - a projector for colored slides," Mrs. Carson said. "We have sent them slides of our selves, and some we have of them, but they can't see them very well because they don't have a projector. We are also sending Christmas cards."

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SEVERAL PERSONS have visited the village of Feves to see how the project is working, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Utley who were stationed with TWA in Paris, made several trips to Feves, and had people from Feves visit them in Paris and showed them the sights of their own capital. August Kolling, a Morganville farmer, went on a special tour to see how the farms around Feves were doing, and Miss Anna Marie Roenigk, a native of Morganville who teaches in New Jersey, went over this summer.

No one from Feves has been able to make the trip, but Mademoiselle Wendel from Lorraine, France visited Morganville, and Charles L. Todd of New York has visited both towns, carrying messages to each group.

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A PAINTING of a scene near Morganville has been sent to Feves, and a woodcarving of a typical home in Feves has come to Kansas.

"The whole community is interested and has worked on the project - the school, chamber of commerce, townspeople, farmers, and small children," Mrs. Carson said.

The story of how Morganville adopted Feves will be broadcast over "The People Act" radio program at 6 p. m. Saturday.