Tracing acts of kindness
By BILL DUNCAN
The View From Here
Sixty-one years ago I was finishing my World War II enlistment in the Marines as a sea-going Marine serving aboard the USS Midway in the Mediterranean. It was December 1947 and my ship was anchored in Naples Bay when Italy was still in a
wartime recovery period. The ship hosted Italian orphans from Naples for a Christmas party on the ship’s hanger deck.
Naval personnel had contacted the nuns who ran the orphanage asking what gifts the children needed most. Without hesitation the nuns said shoes and gave the delegation the sizes needed. A shoe factory did a custom order for the ship.
As a Marine guard I was on the hanger deck that joyful day when the shoes were
distributed. There is a scene I recall in which the chaplain handed a young Italian boy, about seven years old, his pair of shoes. The expression on his face was priceless as he hugged the pair of black, high top shoes to his chest.
I had all but forgotten that incident until I read Lita Judge’s children’s book, “One Thousand Tracing,” a true story of her grandparents, Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom and their involvement in a program to send food, clothing and shoes to war torn Europe after World War II. At first they helped just one family but in the end more than 3,000 people in 15 different countries throughout Europe were given aid.
Lita said she discovered a box of letters with hundreds of tracings of feet in her grandparent’s attic, which led to the story. She learned about the tracings from her mother Elva Paulson of Roseburg, who was a child herself when her parents received a letter from a friend in Germany telling of the plight of the German citizens after the war.
That is how Lita begins the story, as told by a little girl, in December 1946 when a letter arrives at the Hamerstrom family farm telling of the bleak conditions. The little girl’s mother gathers up wool socks, sweaters and even her own winter coat and packs them in a box with cans of meat along with sugar and tea to send to the starving family.
As the story continues, in January 1947 a letter arrives from the German family expressing gratitude for the gifts, but ending with “Please send no more to me. Help others.” Included was a list of ten families, along with traces of their feet.
Thus began the one-on-one Marshall Plan in which American families connected with families in war torn Europe.
It is a beautifully written and illustrated book telling a story of the unique generosity of the American people. Lita writes, “sending hope and kindness these people began healing the wounds of war."
Lita, who now lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire, grew up in Roseburg. She is a children’s book illustrator and is now working on her second book in which she both illustrates and writes. “One Thousand Tracings,” has already won numerous awards. The author uses photographs, letters and the foot tracings as part of a unique collage of illustrations, including her original artwork.
The book is a moving tribute to her grandparents and a powerful reminder to children of the importance of humanitarian efforts during wartime.
“One Thousand Tracings,” is a hardbound children’s book that is published by Hyperion Books for Children and sells for $15.99.
(Bill Duncan can be reached by writing to P.O. Box 812, Roseburg, OR 97470)
September 6th, 2009 at 1:58 am
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