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Thursday, February 20, 2014

An Unforgettable Day on the Queen Mary


Each time I glimpse the lovely Queen Mary, I am filled with awe at the majesty, beauty and history of this celebrated ship.
On February 15, I had the great privilege of returning to the Queen Mary --the setting
for my historical fiction picture book Welcome to America, Champ!--this time as a guest for a “Greet the Author” event.

 Welcome to America, Champ! with stunning illustrations by award-winning illustrator Doris Ettlinger, takes place on the Queen Mary following WWII and during the “Brides and Baby” voyages.  At that time in 1946, an armada of ships took part in what was also known as “Operation Diaper Run,” transporting tens of thousands of European war brides and war babies of American and Canadian servicemen to North America. The Queen Mary alone transported 22,000 war brides and babies in a seven month span.

The Stacks onboard shop hosted the “Greet the Author” event during the Queen Mary Scottish Festival, with thousands in attendance.  I met people from many parts of California -- and the world.  Thrilling bagpipe music played that day as kids stopped by to create their own Queen Mary craft.  You can see here some of their creative work.
Lovely weather, a festive atmosphere and a remarkable location made for a most memorable day.
Kids designed their own take-home
Queen Mary crafts


2 comments:

Lupe Ruiz-Flores said...

What a great event to participate in, Catherine. Congratulations!

Catherine Stier said...

Thank you Lupe! It was a special day!