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Second World War: Mother of Five Sailors Christens USS Chickasaw at Launching Ceremony

By Capper's Staff
Published on October 29, 2012

This article is an excerpt from The Kansas City Star, July 24, 1942, during the second World War:

“With firm swing, Mrs. Rena Fairbanks of Emmett, Kansas, shatters a bottle of champagne against the USS Chickasaw, Navy fleet tug at a San Francisco shipyard. Frank Fairbanks, her husband, is in the left foreground intent upon his wife’s efficient performance of the task. The Navy honored Mrs. Fairbanks by inviting her to San Francisco to sponsor the auxiliary ship because five of her sons wear its uniform. One of them, Carl, was aboard a ship sunk in the Java Sea and is reported missing. The launching ceremony was held last night.”

Geneva Fairbanks
Rossville, Kansas


Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then Capper’s Weekly asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from Capper’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.