I SAY: Caboose is nice addition

Opinion

Related Photos

June 18, 2009

By Michael R. Moser / mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com The Crossville Chronicle Thu Jun 18, 2009, 03:17 PM CDT

This country has long held a romanticism toward trains and the railroads, sparked in part because the rails played such an important role in the development of this country. Today the railroad is still an important mover of goods from one point to another.

The three Rotary Clubs of Cumberland County, under the vision of the late Bob Patton, took on the project of saving Crossville’s historic railroad depot and with the city of Crossville’s blessing and help, made what was once a centerpiece of Main St. a modern day show place.

The attractive building really does add to the downtown aura and now the Crossville Rotary Foundation, along with the city of Crossville and Downtown Crossville Inc., are bringing a caboose to be permanently displayed at the Depot.

It may already be here by the time you read this.

I do find a bit of irony in the fact that now that we don’t have railroad tracks coming into town, we have a restored depot and caboose. And that’s a shame.

For those who have not lived here as long as I, in the early to mid-80s Crossville hosted a fall festival called the Autumn Leaf Special. It was a delightful celebration of the splendor of the Cumberland Plateau on the second and third weekends in October and local arts and crafts.

Main St. was closed, much like it is for Depot Days, and vendors and food booths lined Main St.

The train would leave Nashville with a load of tourists armed with their cameras to record our wonderful falls on the mountain and with their pocketbook to take home a treasure to remember the trip by.

The train, pulled by a vintage engine, would arrive in Crossville about mid-morning on Saturdays and stay for several hours. Those who wanted to spend the time would stay at a local motel. Locals who wanted to go to Nashville would hop on the train, if space was available, and enjoy a night in the Music City.

Cumberland Countians would return to Crossville the next day, along with another load of tourists. All would be home by Sunday night.

The weight of the old engine on the weakening tracks and the lack of funding for proper repairs resulted in the railroad abandoning the line through here and I always thought that was tragic.

It made sense to have a festival in the fall. The cool but pleasant air filled with the aroma of goods baking and good old mountain and bluegrass music just made it feel like autumn.

Now that we have our restored Depot and caboose in hand, maybe we could return to a fall festival that all could enjoy.

• • •

Michael R. Moser is the editor of the Crossville Chronicle. His column appears periodically. He may be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com.

Text Only

Opinion

Gary's World: The magical Star Wars summer of '77
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

May 24, 2012
Lion and the Lamb: When politics and religion meet
Several wealthy contributors to the Republican presidential campaign are once again trying to figure out how they can use a video clip containing three words that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright used in a sermon on April 13, 2003. Wright, now retired, had been pastor of the 6,600-member Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago when Barack Obama was a member there.

May 22, 2012
Random Thoughts: Returning vets fight fire
Cemeteries are given special attention this week in preparation for Memorial Day next Monday. During the Civil War gracious ladies of the south laid flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers from both sides. The custom spread across the country and was called Decoration Day until the early 20th century.

May 22, 2012
Tidbits: Finding more time in your day
If we had another two hours in every day, we'd all probably still be begging for just a little bit more to get all our stuff done before that clock strikes midnight and it's game over.

May 21, 2012
Stumptalk: Hooray for the innovators
In his brilliant article in the Free Market, Daniel Sanchez says, “There will always be a one-percent. The well-being of the 99-percent depends on who makes up the 1-percent: innovative entrepreneurs or the state and its cronies. This in turn depends on the ideologies adopted by the 99-percent.” This is the way societies have always been organized and always will be.

May 21, 2012
GARY'S WORLD: Graduates, create your own opportunities
Time flies. One day you have a baby boy who is fascinated with stuffed Miss Piggy and Kermit rattles and the next day he wants to wear his cowboy boots and hat with every outfit no matter what the occasion. Before you know it, he's playing in the elementary school band, going into high school, learning how to drive, driving to school, going to prom and graduating.

May 17, 2012
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Truly a January in May
“It’s June in January” became a popular standard after Bing Crosby introduced the song in 1934. A strange thing happened last week. I call it a tale of ‘It’s January in May.’

May 15, 2012
LION AND THE LAMB: Our challenged nation
Three major social justice issues have been a source of contention in our nation over the years, and interestingly, each of them has involved the subject of equality.

May 15, 2012
WE THE PEOPLE: Repressing the ‘Grapes of Wrath’
Sometimes a hole appears, ever so briefly, in the curtain that hides the plans of those who control our government. One such opening occurred when Alan Greenspan testified to the Federal Reserve Board on Feb. 26, 1997. During that testimony, Greenspan revealed that “worker insecurity” was (in his view) a boon to the economy, allowing productivity to increase without causing workers to demand increased earnings.

May 15, 2012
TIDBITS: Never stop moving forward, grads
This week is a week of celebration. According to my files of graduating seniors, Cumberland County will see more than 550 students earning their high school diplomas this week. Now, those youngsters will venture out into the world, armed with the knowledge and character instilled in them by their parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, teachers, principals, classmates, coaches and others.

May 14, 2012
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Related Photos

I SAY: Caboose is nice addition

Site Map

Contact Us