Join author and historian Jane Sweetland as she discusses her book Boxcar Diplomacy: Two Trains that Crossed an Ocean. The story begins after World War II as the Cold War was beginning. With so much devastation in Europe, there wasn’t enough food, so governments, churches, and charitable organizations attempted to fill the gap. Boxcar diplomacy began as a simple idea and grew to encompass the generosity and imagination of the nation.

Sweetland has had a long career in education, teaching history and English before becoming a dean and associate vice president at California State University. She has degrees in English, history, counseling, and education. Since leaving her job at CSU, she has written two books about World War II. She lives at Lake Tahoe, where her grandfather bought property in the 1920s from Henry Yerington, who was “selling the property cheap because they couldn’t run cattle on it.”

This event is part of the Historic Reno Preservation Society’s second Sunday speaker series, a monthly series of presentations on subjects of local historical interest. Registration is required.