Soaring spirits.Just about every child dreams of chocolate raining down upon them from an open sky. For students at some of the hardest-hit elementary schools on the Mississippi Gulf Coast The Mississippi Gulf Coast refers to the three Mississippi counties which lie on the Gulf of Mexico: Hancock County, Mississippi, Harrison County, Mississippi, and Jackson County, Mississippi. , this dream came true recently when chocolate fell from a Mississippi Civil Air Patrol  The U.S. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was created on 1 December, 1941 by Administrative Order 9, with Maj. Gen. John F. airplane in a mission designed to provide hope. For students at Bay St. Louis and Waveland elementaries, school has been a unique experience since Hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , with classes taking
place in tents. And out of 360 students at Reeves Elementary in Long
Beach, the families of 102 lost their homes or were displaced.
The chocolate drops at Bay-Waveland and Reeves were re-enactments of drops that took place in 1948 in war-torn Berlin. Col. Gail Halvorsen Gail Halvorsen (born October 10, 1920 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is a former American pilot of C-47s and C-54s during the Berlin airlift ("Operation Vittles") 1948–1949. , a U.S. Air Force pilot, flew similar missions and became known as the "Chocolate Pilot." The story of Halvorsen's drops and their effects on the children of Berlin are captured in Margot Theis Raven's book Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot. The book's publisher, Sleeping Bear Press, coordinated and funded the Gulf Coast drops, Long Grove Confectionery Co. of Buffalo Grove, Illinois This article is about the Chicago suburb, Buffalo Grove, Illinois. For the unincorporated Ogle County community of the same name, see Buffalo Grove, Ogle County, Illinois. , provided chocolate-dipped sandwich cookies. Fifth-graders from Mount Prospect, Illinois Mount Prospect, part of Elk Grove Township and Wheeling Township, is a village in Cook County, Illinois about 22 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Mount Prospect was incorporated as a village in 1917. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 56,265. , created parachutes to ensure soft landings for the goodies. Mississippi Civil Air Patrol pilot Wes Bennett flew the chocolate drops over Bay-Waveland and Reeves. Sleeping Bear Press provided more than 600 copies of Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot and other books to help the children replenish their personal libraries. Col. Halvorsen, who continues to make drops all over the world, visited both schools after the drops and spoke to the children. Robin Roberts of ABC's "Good Morning America Good Morning America is a weekday morning news show that is broadcast on the ABC television network. The show was adapted from The Morning Exchange, a morning show created by and airing on the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, and was launched nationally as " also participated in the chocolate drops, and "Good Morning America" aired the event live. Although strong winds might have blown the chocolate a little off course, nothing could dim the happiness of the children, who left school that day with a smile, chocolate and hope in hand. For more information, see www.sleepingbearpress.com.--J.T. |
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