P. Ciarelli

Voiture 410 Hosts Nurses Training Scholarship Banquet
American Legion Post 21  ·  Kenosha, Wisconsin

On the evening of January 24, 2026, American Legion Post 21 in Kenosha was filled with warmth, pride, and the timeless spirit of service as Voiture 410 — La Société des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux — hosted its Nurses Training Scholarship Banquet. The event brought together scholarship recipients, community leaders, and veterans to celebrate a program that has helped nursing students across the country for over seven decades.

It was an evening that looked both backward and forward — honoring nurses whose careers began with a Forty & Eight scholarship in the 1960s, and welcoming those who are continuing that tradition today.

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An Evening of Honor

Chef de Gare Jim Schmidt opened the program with a welcome that set the tone for the evening — one of gratitude, history, and renewed purpose. The Invocation was offered by Aumonier Jon Lyons, followed by dinner and an impressive roster of distinguished speakers.

Grande Chef de Gare Melissa Guthmiller represented the Wisconsin Grand Voiture, while Grande Nurses Training Director Dale Mitchell spoke to the national significance of the program and the importance of local Voitures like 410 in keeping it vibrant.

Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman delivered remarks that resonated deeply with the room, speaking to the vital role veterans organizations play in the fabric of the community. Mayor of Kenosha David F. Bogdala also addressed the gathering, sharing a personal account of nursing’s importance in his own family history — a reminder that the nurses this program helps go on to touch countless lives. “We were impressed by Mayor Bogdala’s speaking skills and hope to welcome him back next year!”

The presence of two of Kenosha County’s top elected officials at a veterans nursing scholarship banquet spoke volumes about the program’s standing in the community.

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The Honorees

Four individuals were recognized at the banquet, each representing a different chapter in the long story of the Forty & Eight Nurses Training Program.

Brenna Garland — Current Scholarship Recipient

Brenna received a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of her selection into the Nurses Training Program. She represents the program’s future — a nursing student whose path forward is being supported by the same organization that helped so many before her.

Lara Lockhart — 2024 Program Graduate

Lara received her Certificate and official Forty & Eight Nurses Training Pin in recognition of completing the program in 2024. Her pin is a mark of accomplishment earned by nurses who have carried forward the mission this organization has championed since 1955.

Brad Cramlet — 1996 Program Participant & Sous Nurses Training Director, Voiture 410

Brad’s connection to the program spans three decades — first as a scholarship recipient in 1996, and now as Sous Nurses Training Director for Voiture 410. He received the official Forty & Eight Nurses Training Pin and a Certificate of Appreciation, a fitting tribute to someone who has given back what was once given to him.

Kathleen (Smith) Norris — Legacy Nurse, Keynote Speaker

Kathleen was presented with the official Forty & Eight Nurses Training Pin and a Certificate of Appreciation in honor of her nursing career that began with a Voiture 410 scholarship in the 1960s. She also served as the evening’s keynote speaker — and she brought the room to its feet.

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“Nursing Is Life” — The Keynote Address

When Kathleen Norris stepped to the podium, she brought with her a framed portrait from her nursing school days and a bouquet of flowers — but more remarkably, she brought the original essay she wrote in 1968, titled “What Nursing Means To Me,” penned as Kathleen Ann Smith while still a student. She read from it that evening, and her words — written nearly sixty years ago — felt as relevant as ever.

In her essay, the young Kathleen wrote of nursing as “an art, a science, a service, a way of life” — and described discovering its meaning in the quiet, human moments: listening to the hopeless, comforting the frightened, sharing life with proud parents and death with grieving families. She concluded her essay with words that moved the room:

“To me, nursing is life; that special something that has become an inseparable part of my maturing personality; something that will remain with me and mold me into the person I strive to become.”

— Kathleen Ann Smith, “What Nursing Means To Me,” June 15, 1968

The essay’s closing lines acknowledged “the kindness of my dear friends, the 40 and 8” — the same organization whose members were now seated before her, six decades later, presenting her with a pin and applauding her career.

Kathleen also brought mementos from her nursing school graduation — photographs and her treasured nurse’s cap — which were displayed at the banquet. The sight of her young portrait alongside the woman she had become was one of the evening’s most touching moments.

Her address made clear why this program matters — not just in scholarships and certificates, but in lives shaped, communities served, and a legacy of care that spans generations.

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Unable to Attend: Sandra Riese

Another Legacy Nurse, Sandra Riese, was unable to join us due to prior commitments. A graduate of our scholarship program from the 1960s, Sandra has devoted her career to patient care and community leadership, with her name appearing regularly in local publications for her charitable work. We look forward to honoring her at a future event.

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Looking Ahead

The success of this year’s banquet has energized Voiture 410’s commitment to growing the Nurses Training Program in the years to come. We are actively seeking Legacy Nurses — those who received Forty & Eight scholarships in past decades — to be honored at our next banquet.

If you or someone you know received a Forty & Eight nursing scholarship and would like to reconnect with Voiture 410, please reach out. Your story matters, and we would be honored to celebrate it.

Contact us at: voiture410@sewivets.org   |   sewivets.org/Voiture410

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About the Forty & Eight Nurses Training Program

La Société des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux — the Forty & Eight — is an honor society of American veterans founded in 1920. Its name honors the French boxcars of World War I, marked “40 Hommes / 8 Chevaux” (40 men or 8 horses), that carried American soldiers to the front.

Since 1955, the Forty & Eight Nurses Training Program has helped over 32,000 nursing students across the United States, distributing more than $20 million in scholarships. Scholarships are available to nursing students from CNA through doctoral level, with no application deadlines for most pathways.

Voiture 410 serves Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Nursing students who reside in Kenosha County and are enrolled full-time in an accredited nursing program may be eligible for scholarship assistance through the George B. Boland Nurses Training Trust Fund.

Learn more: sewivets.org/Voiture410   |   fortyandeight.org

I think I mentioned that when Tim and I started working on the Locomotive 2 years ago that i made an electronic sound system. If you need to update the sound system on your locomotive, I put the plans, blueprints, parts lists, and code on GitHub here: https://github.com/lpcia/Parade-Player.

This winter I will be working on version 3 which will include a second set of speakers and a PA system so we can work the crowd. The marine speakers are definitely loud enough, but only in the front. The second set will be mounted on the roof pointing about 45 degrees from the front.

I originally made this system for my model railroad. To modify it for our parade locomotive I added an old auto “head unit” I had lying around, and a set of huge marine speakers.

I added a wired remote this year. I may convert that to wireless with nRF24L01 transmitters and receivers.

Here is the current playlist: Do you have a suggestion?

• 01 On the Road Again-WN.mp3
• 02 Beach Boys I Get Around.mp3
• 03 Walking on Sunshine.mp3
• 04 Armed Forces Medley.mp3
• 05 This is my Country.mp3
• 06 Grand Old Flag.mp3
• 07 Little Nash Rambler.mp3
• 08 Sousa The Thunderer.mp3
• 09 Sousa Stars & Stripes Forever .mp3
• 10 French Whistle.mp3
• 11 Multi Whistle Blast.mp3
• 12 Startup Chuff.mp3
• 13 Brakes -Grinding to a halt.mp3
• 14 Steam Loco Regulate Steam.mp3
• 15 Steam Loco Brake Compressor.mp3
• 16 Ozzy Crazy Train All Aboard.mp3

If you have any questions, suggestions, etc, let me know through this website, or through GitHub (although I don’t go there often)

Tim Green is the 40et8, Voiture 410’s Locomotive Engineer. IMHO, If it weren’t for him, the locomotive would have sat in the garage for at least another 12 years collecting dust. There were even some members considering selling her off at one low point. Then came Tim.

Tim is one of those very rare guys that can seemingly fix anything. And that was a very good thing for Voiture 410, because there were doubts when we took 12 years of dust and junk off of her. For my part, it was a real treat working with him and watching him tackle one problem after another. I’ve only met a few guys like him in my life. I think of them as Leonard DaVinci’s. If I’m being honest, watching Tim work reminded me a lot of working on cars with my Dad (another Leonard DaVinci) whose wizardry helped me get a 65 Plymouth Fury that I bought for 50 bucks on the road.

As Voiture 410’s Locomotive Engineer, Tim not only got her running, he made the 86 year old vehicle safe to be on the road. There is another article below that gives an accounting of a lot (but not all) of the work he did.

Tim also had a lot of help from his son’s Tim and Chris who did the heavy lifting, and some of the wizardry they inherited from Dad. Chris’ son “CJ” was a big part of the team, always there to lend a hand. Tim’s wife Sue also made some important contributions.

While Voiture 410 is grateful for all the work he did, Tim’s most important community job is as the de facto leader of the Kenosha Area Vietnam Veterans Honor Guard (https://sewivets.org/kavv/). If your veteran loved ones have had military funeral honers in Kenosha County, there is a good chance Tim was behind the scenes helping coordinate it.

While searching through Post 21’s Newspaper Archives, I found an article showing when Voiture 410 received the Title and Keys for our locally famous Locomotive. According to the article the Locomotive was turned over on Thursday September 11, 1941. That would make her 82 years old as of the date of this article. Here’s to the next 82 years!

Kenosha Evening News Friday, September 12, 1941 The Caption reads:

KENOSHA VOITURE GETS NEW LOCOMOTIVE – The gift of the Nash-Kelvinator Corp. and other public-spirited individuals and organizations in Kenosha, the new volture locomotive for the Kenosha Forty and Eight Society was formally turned over to the chapter Thursday afternoon at the Nash plant. Above, R. A. DeVlleg, Nash-Kelvinator works manager, is presenting the certificate of title to Nick Raschke, retiring Chef de Gare. In the upper picture Mr. DeVlieg is with the nembers of the crew of the locomotive. They include Raschke, Jake Willems, Julius Roepke, Carl Gardner, Al Krahn, Ross Phelps and Dr. L E. Erling.

The pertinent part of the article reads as follows:

The chassis and motor were donated by Nash-Kelvinator, while a voluntary group of Legion and 40 et. 8 members helped with the assembling and finishing. A large number of other local firms donated various materials. The locomotive is built to the scale of the famous French locomotives of the World War. A box car will be added later.

Crew members are Jake Willems, Engineer; Carl Gardner, conductor; Julius Roepke, fireman; and Al Krahn brakeman. The locomotive will appear in the pre-convention parade to be held at Racine Saturday afternoon, and in the national 40 et 8 parade at Milwaukee Monday afternoon and evening.

Our locomotive is making an appearance at the Kenosha Expo on Saturday March 9th, and Sunday March 10th. We are there at the invitation of Bill Zimmer of the Kenosha Garden Railroad Society, of which I am a member. Ol’ 410 will be parked next to their large G Scale layout sporting an upgraded audio system that I redesigned, a new backup/front facing camera system, and a new, very loud, PA system all of which Tim Green and I installed last week.

You can find out more about this Kenosha tradition here https://kenoshaexpo.com/

If you’re a geek and want information about the sound system, visit my GitHub here: https://github.com/lpcia/Parade-Player/tree/main. If you can use it, please consider donating to one of our causes.

This is a bit dated, but the Kenosha News wrote an article about our efforts dated June 23, 2023. Disclaimer: Sadly, Tim Green couldn’t make it to the interview at the last minute, and they got Chef de Gare Schmidt’s first name wrong!

Dave Lyons driving force in suggesting this news item to the KN was to honor his father. It was also Dave’s intention to garner interest in the project. In hindsight this makes sense to me as while we were driving in the Civic Veterans Parade, there were many voices yelling “Welcome Back”. Our Locomotive is something unique in Kenosha, and people have emotional ties to it.

In any case, the parades were successful this past year, and we are very much looking forward to the 2024 parade season

Here’s the link, complete with video: https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/historic-kenosha-parade-locomotive-restored-returning-after-12-years/article_702a13c2-112a-11ee-bc9e-3703c2787837.html

Meet Tim Green. He’s the current Locomotive Engineer. Tim was a professional Auto Mechanic for many years as were his sons. Tim took it upon himself to make sure that Voiture 410’s Pride and Joy was Street Legal. This past Parade Season was a pretty huge success, which I’ll be talking about in other articles, but this article will focus on Tim and his accomplishments.

The Garage and Tim’s farm were not the only places that the locomotve was worked on. On the way home from the Racine Parade, the brakes failed. Due to Dave Lyons familiarity with driving the vehicle, he was able to goose it back to Post 21’s garage under its own power. Once there, Tim Green and his son Chris were able to effect repairs and make the Somers Parade (pretty much) on time. Chris was heard saying that “the Locomotive is going to be in the parade even if it’s on the back of a trailer!” Thankfully , Tim and his team made all of those problems a thing of the past.

The locomotive is now under a tarp back in Post 21’s garage, and Tim has the battery on a conditioner. He plans on bringing it back to his farm in April to get it ready for the 2024 Parade Season. We are also thinking of ways we can get her on the road for fundraising.

Any Ideas on that?

Current List of Events

• Event #, Date, Event, Driver, Co-Driver
• 1 | Jun 5, 2023 | Shakedown Cruise | Tim Green | Paul Ciarelli
• 2 | Jul 1, 2023 2023 | Twin Lakes Libertyfest Parade | Dave Lyons* | Paul Ciarelli
• 3 | Jul 2, 2023 2023 | Kenosha Civic Veterans Parade | Dave Lyons* | Paul Ciarelli
• 4 | Jul 4, 2023 2023 | Racine’s 87th Annual Parade | Dave Lyons* | Jon Lyons
• 5 | Jul 4, 2023 2023 | Village & Town of Somers, WI | Tim Green | Tom Visintainer
• 6 | Jul 9, 2023 | Bristol Progress Days Parade | Tim Green | Paul Ciarelli
• 7 | Aug 26, 2023 | Moose Lodge Fundraising Mission | Tim Green | Rich Bowker
• 8 | Sep 22, 2023 | Escort George Peter on his 100’th Birthday | Tim Green | Paul Ciarelli

Here’s the short list of Tim’s accomplishments.

List of Improvements by Tim Green and the Green Machine

1. Removal of:
   • 3 broken air horn / compressors and associated tanks & hoses
     • We figured about 150 lbs worth
   • 100’s of feet of wiring
   • A particularly evil Oil Filter that took over an hour to remove
   • Old Speakers an lights that we couldn’t get parts for
   • All Blue lights (We were originally told no blue by the police, but that was rescinded)
   • Oil tank used for smoke
   • Cabin Fans
   • Old Radio, CB, 8 Track Player, Cassette Player
2. Coolant Fan and Thermostat 
3. 50’ Feet of Wire Loom
4. Welded 3 Lug studs to the back of wheel Front Left and 3 new lug nuts
5. Antifreeze flush and New Antifreeze (-30)
6. New Headlight
7. Spark Plug wire set and plugs.
8. Rotor and Distributer Cap
9. New Fuel Pump & Filter
10. Complete rebuild of carburetor.
11. Air Filter
12. Oil Change with filter
13. Dome Light
14. Wash / Wax / Polished Brass (Brasso and Never Dull)
15. Fixed air shock line, Front Left (Currently 95 lbs.)
16. Cleaned and inspected brakes.
17. Grease all lube points.
18. Inspected Trunnions (There are spare parts in the box)
19. Backup alarm
20. Rewired all light switches.
21. Added a manual backup alarm
22. Battery Tender
23. Rear Air Shocks
24. Seal leaks in Oil Cover
25. Fuel Gage / fuel Inlet mechanism.
    • Dig out the old float mechanism and replace parts on it
26. Brake system overhaul including new shoes, and cylinders
27. Brake Master Cylinder Replacement
28. Touch up Paint
29. Clean old Seat Pads ( the old faux leather was pretty awful )

Notes from Tim:

1. The locomotive is made of 70-year-old wood!!!    Treat the locomotive as a piece of wood!
   • NO SMOKING
2. Do not drive faster than 65MPH
   • The Speedometer is not calibrated
     • 65MPH on the speedometer is 50MPH Clocked.  

Still needs to be done.

What’s Next

Tim still has some projects he’s working on

1. New Tires (The current tires have tread, but they are pretty dry rotted)
2. Tim’s son is making a cow catcher.
3. Front suspension, esp. Drivers side.
4. Emergency Brakes
5. Smoke System to replace the old dripping oil on the manifold trick

Tim is also helping designing and installing the electronic/electrical projects that were donated by my wife Linda and me.

• Fuse box – Tim ran all lights and electronics to individual fuses, which replaced the old bus bars.
• Cabin Fan – Fused and Installed by Tim
• Sound System with Kenwood head unit and custom built MP3 player
• Sound System version 2
  • The buttons will be re-located to the dashboard for improved accessibility and safety.
• Public Address System with sirens and whistle sounds
  • Purchased but not yet Installed
• Front and rear facing cameras with dashboard 7″ Screen.
  • Purchased but not yet Installed

By the way, compiling and typing all of this was exhausting. Tim’s doing of all that in the timeframe he had was an incredible achievement!

KAVV Treasurer Richard Bowker presented a check for $500.00 to the Nurses Training Grant Fund to Chef de Gare Jim Schmidt. This donation is in addition to the $160 collected at the KAVV’s annual fundraiser for the Training fund, and the Locomotive Operations Fund. As mentioned in the August Minutes, the locomotive was present at the Moose Lodge event for this purpose. Rich is also a Voiture 410 Voyageur!

Dual KAVV/V410 Voyageur members present Nurses Training Fund Donation to Chef de Gare Schmidt

The locomotive was placed at the entrance to the KAVV Fundraiser

This is the new Fundraising Sign purchased for this type of event.

We are pretty proud of our locomotive restoration, but the real story of the re-establishment of Kenosha County’s Voiture 410 is the restoration of the the Nurses Training Grant Program.

Recognizing the shortage of registered nurses, this program is designed to provide some financial assistance to registered nursing students from Kenosha County pursuing an associate or higher degree in a nursing school program.

Please consider donating to this cause to help some of Kenosha County’s Nurses by clicking or scanning the QR Code

If you are currently attending higher education in a Nursing School program, please contact us to see if you qualify..

Voiture 410’s Parade Locomotive is on the road again! It started about 2 years ago when Chef de Gare Jim Schmidt brought Voiture 410 back from the brink largely due to his desire for the locomotive to remain in Kenosha County. Voiture 410 is now growing, and our two main projects, The Nurses Training Grant Program, and the Locomotive are both back online.

Dave Lions, who as a kid got a lot of rides in the Locomotive because of his fathers position in the 40/8 (Check out the names on the side of the locomotive) got the ball rolling by getting a new battery at the end of 2022. Dave is going to sit down with us and narrate a history that will be on this website in the future. Continuing the legacy, Dave’s son Chris is a member of Voiture 410.

Our newest member, and now our chief engineer, Tim Green is responsible for the lion’s share of the work done to get the Locomotive back on the road. Tim and Paul Ciarelli started meeting around March and started pulling out old and useless parts and wiring. In the end, it was probably about 200 pounds lighter! After a few weeks in, they got tired of hauling their tools to downtown Kenosha and moved the Locomotive to Tim’s Garage. Once it was in his garage, his son’s Tim Jr. and Chris, along with Grandson CJ couldn’t resist the temptation to be part of the locomotives long and storied history and spent many hours in the restoration.

Tim’s list of jobs and parts is long and the parts he purchased were largely donated to the project! A mostly complete list is now part of the records we are keeping for the locomotive. A copy of that list is located in the cab.

Linda and Paul Ciarelli donated the new sound system which includes a head unit, an mp3 player (custom built by Paul), and LOUD speakers. We think it’s going to be a hit at Twin Lakes, Kenosha, Somers, and Racine Parades coming up in a couple of weeks. We hope you are at at least one of them so you can be the judge of that!

This Locomotive started out life as a 1937 Nash Lafayette. This unique piece of Kenosha County pop culture has been in the service of the 40/8 since 1946. Not surprisingly, it is in need of parts and maintenance to keep it going for another 87 years. Please become part of it’s history and click or scan the QR code.