Marjorie E. Latchaw, originally from Wilton, Iowa, had a part in the 1922 tree-planting ceremony in that town. I finally tracked her down in California in 1995, and here are excerpts from her response to a letter I sent to her at that time asking for her recollections of the Wilton 70th Anniversary Celebration.

 Wade A. Calvert
Port Byron, IL 61275

Dear Mr. Calvert:

 In response to your letter of March 3, I am finally catching up on my mail and will do my best to tell you what I remember about the Rock Island Railroad.

 As I recall, I was a part of the ceremony relating to the planting of the tree. When the tree was planted, I recited the poem by Joyce Kilmer, "Trees". I was eight years old in 1922. I had my picture taken with four large men, dignitaries from the railroad and the Presbyterian minister from Wilton�I probably still have it somewhere and if I find it I'll send it to you. I also received a small medal that said "Rock Island Railroad" with a ribbon attached.

 My family home was in Wilton, about 3 blocks north of the railroad track. I can remember being awakened at night by that lonely whistle, and in later years by the siren on the "streamliner". Many of the hoboes who rode the freight-cars came to our house, knocked politely on the door, and asked my mother for a sandwich. She always accommodated them, and they sat on our back-porch steps eating their sandwiches and drinking a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.

 Wilton was "Wilton Junction" when I was growing up. We were proud to have the trains come through our little town - it made us seem important. If we wanted to catch the streamliner to Chicago, we would get the ticket at the depot, then wait beside the tracks and the station agent would wave down the train to let us on. Coming back from Chicago (or Davenport and Moline), the train would hesitate a second to let us jump off, then pick up speed and rumble on, sirens blaring.

 I was born in Wilton Junction in 1914, went to grade school and high school, graduation from Wilton High School in 1931. I went to Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls for two years, then returned home to teach second and third grades in the Wilton school where I was a kid. Eventually, I moved on to the Davenport Public School System, finished a B.A. in Physical Education at Cedar Falls, taught in Waterloo West High School, then a year at Iowa State Teachers College. In 1949, I completed an M.A. in Physical Education at the State University of Iowa in Iowa City, then taught physical education at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois for a year, returned to the University of Iowa and received a Ph.D. in 1952, moved to Los Angeles where I was a professor at UCLA for 25 years and am now retired and living in southern California.

 Many of my classmates from Wilton High School are deceased - I still have contact with Grayce Darting Squires who continues to live in Wilton.

 Sincerely,

 Marjorie E. Latchaw