Statue unveiled at NOTC

A statue of Orphan Train Rider Robert Francis Miles Summers was unveiled at the National Orphan Train Complex on Thursday.
Unveiling the statue was Summers' son, Robert Frances Miles Summers II, a longtime supporter of the National Orphan Train Complex.
It is the 23rd Orphan Train Rider statue to be placed in Concordia.
Robert Frances Miles was born March 9, 1891 at St. Ann's Maternity Hospital in New York. He was placed in the care of the New York Foundling Hospital at four days old.
Luke B. and Mary Ellen (Harrison) Summers, who lived in Lexington, Mo., had been informed of the placing out program run by the Sisters of Charity through their parish priest. They filled out an application and made requests for their child's features.
Robert made the trip by train from New York to Lexington as a toddler to join the Summers family. He would be the couple's only child.
The Summers lived in Lexington long enough for Robert to attend first grade, and then moved to Chickasha, Okla. in 1900.
Robert would marry Effie Dillard on November 21, 1925. The couple would have just one child, Robert Frances Miles Summers II.
Robert Frances Miles Summers would die of blood poisoning when his son was just nine months old.
Robert II would join the U.S. Navy in 1944 at age 17 and served in World War II. Following his discharge he returned to Chickasha and finished high school. He obtained his pilot's license and worked at Tinker Air Force Base.
On May 29, 1949, Robert II married Amanda Bertie Lorene Smith. The couple had two son and were married for 44 years before Lorene passed away in 1993.
Robert II will celebrate his 92nd birthday on Christmas Eve.