The French are Coming!

When Gérard Torlotting spoke in the old Morganville high school gym in December of 2013, both Vaughan and Freeland missed a comment he made. It was almost a year later when Vaughan was reviewing the video taken that day that he was startled to hear Gérard say, "Also, the people from Fèves asked me to organize a trip to the USA with a stop in Morganville, Kansas in 2015."

An e-mail to Torlotting prompted a confirmation that arrangements were indeed moving forward for the trip. An estimated 20 people were planning on visiting in the late summer or early fall of 2015. Vaughan was a bit concerned and immediately advised him to think in terms of September or even October. Kansas in August is often extremely warm, even for native Kansans who are adapted to the state's hot summer temperatures.

Vaughan alerted Cathy Haney at the Clay County Historical Society museum as well as Morganville Mayor Brent Rundell and his wife Charlotte. Anne Clark, a Morganville native who had provided background music with her cello during the reception, said she might be able to encourage one or two of her students to provide music. Vaughan told her he would forward the names of some of the French songs Henri Torlotting had his pupils perform for Todd's visit to Fèves in late 1948 and for the radio program the following June.

When spring 2015 arrived, Freeland and Vaughan decided to again visit Fèves. Partly it was to video some aid recipients about their memories, but the primary reason was because a friendship had been forged.

Many of those who were planning to visit Morganville in the fall had been meeting intermittently for supper at the village social/cultural center. One of those gatherings was planned for June 1 and Freeland and Vaughan were invited.

June 1, 2015 gathering at the Fèves social/cultural center. Left, Jean-Marie Watiez prepares the barbecue, while, right, those inside eagerly wait. Those on the table's right side from the left are Mayor Girard's wife, Mayor Girard, Freeland, Vaughan, Katherine Vaughan and Francis Pracht's wife Christiane.

The event was described as a barbeque, but in Europe, the meaning of that word is similar to how it was used some decades earlier in the United States. In 2015, any American would think in terms of meats immersed or coated with special sauces. But it once only meant grilling - cooking outside over a fire. This difference would lead to a somewhat humorous incident during the Fèvotes visit in the fall.

The evening concluded with a picture-taking session of most of the people planning on going to America in the fall.

The plan was set. The group would visit several sites, such as New York City in the eastern part of the United States, and then finish with Morganville. They would fly into Kansas City on September 9 and Vaughan and Freeland would be their guides.