On October 12, 2010, fourteen representatives from the community of Montgomery flew to France to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the twinning of the two cities; Montgomery, Ohio, United States of America and Neuilly-Plaisance,  France as Sister Cities. The Sister City program is one that “connects the world, one friendship at a time.” The fourteen people extending that hand of friendship included Councilman Todd Steinbrink and wife Carla, Marcallene Shockey, Cindy Light, Marcia Scherocman, Kathy Lonneman and husband Tom, Boyann Bedell and husband Jim, Patricia Hartman, and Gary and Ann Blomberg. They were joined by two representatives from Twin Lakes, Jack Wild and Connie Kingsbury.

14 Montgomery residents visit Neuilly-Plaisance

While there, the group had the chance to experience life in a typical French household by living as guest in the home of a resident of Neuilly-Plaisance. The host city planned for a full week of fun and interaction, paying for all the scheduled activities leaving our representatives to only have to cover their airfare in order to share in this experience.

Upon arrival, the group was treated to lunch and dancing at Chez Gegene, a “guinguette” or dance hall located on the banks of the Marne River. Years ago it was customary for residents of Paris to escape the rigors of city life by traveling to towns along the Marne and dance the afternoon away. Over the next several days the group enjoyed sight seeing. They visited the old Opera House in Paris, Notre Dame, The Louvre, Giverny, the Eiffel Tower, Normandy and attended a reception in their honor in the Senate.

The group visits Montmartre

“On our second day of the visit we were scheduled for a tour of Notre-Dame, Eiffel Tower, lunch in a Parisian Brasserie and a visit to Montmartre. At 4:30 PM we boarded our private bus to return to Neuilly-Plaisance to dress in our finest for a “Welcome Cocktail Buffet” at the French Senate. This is an opportunity that most French citizens are not afforded and here we were, Montgomery residents being invited by Mayor/Senator, Christian Demuynck to visit while the discussions for French citizens retirement age were being voted upon. Traffic proved to be an issue and time did not allow for us to change into finery. Instead, we were welcomed by our distinguished hosts in our sight-seeing garb! It was still an unbelievable experience.” – Boyann Bedell.

Normandy American Cemetery

Many of the group felt the visit to the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville was the most memorable. While at the cemetery, a wreath laying ceremony took place with two different wreaths being placed to represent our French-American friendship. Both national anthems were played. There are more than 9000 white marble tombstones and they all point toward the United States. Marcia Scherocman was particularly moved as one of her uncles had been involved in the initial assault on D-Day. There are four women buried in this cemetery who were nurses during the war. One of them is Elizabeth Richardson, who is from Indiana, and a friend of Montgomery resident, Mary O’Driscoll. The shimmer of the Eiffel Tower and the blooming flowers at Giverny, reminiscent of Monet’s paintings, made this trip memorable, meaningful and delightful.

Roses at Giverny

“Any chance you have to be immersed in the culture of another nation brings about great understanding that can’t be replicated in any other way. Our French hosts were absolutely genuine, matching our friendship with an embrace. You had to have been there!” – Marcallene Shockey.

The next exchange will involve the guests from Neuilly-Plaisance visiting Montgomery and the Sister Cities Committee will be working on this for 2012.