Marion Merrick, August 18, 2014
In the early 1940’s, I was 23 years old and was traveling to Oregon from Texas with 3 other ladies, one of whom was pregnant. Getting to the Pacific coast in those days was not an easy task. Those making the trip by train faced three or four days on crowded, uncomfortable, and often segregated cars. The porters on our train were also African American and the culture of our times had people looking out for each other. The porters had a sleeping car for them to rest in during their off hours and they kindly allowed my pregnant friend to rest there also. We were able to pay back their kindness by the fact that all four of our families had made sure we would NOT be hungry on our journey, and we probably boarded the train with more food than luggage.