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Norma Hannaford greets soldier train

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

It was like old times for Norma Hannaford Friday as she went to greet the Fort Riley soldiers who came to town on a special Union Pacific passenger train pulled by a steam engine.

The event was reminiscent of several other times in her 103 years of life when she greeted soldiers on trains.

She especially remembers the first half of the 20th century, when Americans were united against their enemies and patriotism rode high.

Born in 1904, Norma was just 10 or 12 years old when the United States became involved in World War I.

She was living in El Dorado at the time, and whenever a trainload of soldiers came through, the townspeople turned out to wave and wish them well.

Once, a French officer came to her school to speak to the students.

"He wore a light blue uniform and was very handsome," Norma said. "It was very exciting. We were very patriotic."

She recalled that one of the teachers was a German, and he "got kicked out."

Norma and her husband, Roger W. Hannaford, were living in Marion when World War II broke out. At that time, the nearest soldier trains traveled through Newton.

The Hannafords and other Marionites traveled to Newton to wave at the soldiers as they passed through.

A group of women in Marion baked cookies for the men and also knitted mittens and socks which were put into packages for them.

People also purchased patriotic stamps to support the war effort, and women took cooking lessons to learn how to prepare meals economically.

"We did everything we could for the soldiers," she said.

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