Feb. 11—Feb. 11, 1949, in The Star: A special train called the French Thank You Train arrived this morning in Anniston at 9, bringing with it representatives of the French people, as well as gifts, as a way for the French nation to express gratitude for the U.S. help during the war. On hand to welcome the train were representatives of clubs, churches, schools and civic organizations. The college band from Jacksonville played both “The Star Spangled Banner” and “La Marseillaise.” Also this date: Claimed by death last night at a hospital in Memphis was W. C. Wilson, age 68, who was prominent for many years in the business and industrial life of Anniston. He was born in Oxford, entered the business world in Lincoln and came to Anniston in 1921, at which time he founded the Emory Pipe and Foundry Co. and was associated with H. B. Rudisill at the Rudisill Foundry Company. Most notably, Mr. Wilson owned the 10-story office building at Tenth and Noble, which bore his name until he sold it to Commercial National Bank in 1946. He maintained his residence at 1604 Quintard. Survivors include his wife, a daughter and two sons.

Feb. 11, 1999, in The Star: Alabama’s Medicaid regulations have left low-income working parents out in the cold, according to a national study. It says Alabama’s eligibility caps for Medicaid coverage are the nation’s lowest. That means around 78,000 Alabama parents with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level do not have health insurance. The study indicates that because of how state officials wrote the rules — nothing to do with the character of the people who lack insurance — poor parents who work are twice as likely to be uninsured as those who are unemployed.