Friday, May 30, 2014

PLAYING CATCH-UP- a Beginning and an End

 

DSCN0011Yes, I have been in absentia for a while. I was asked if I might be following the trend of a number of other bloggers, several of them favorites of mine for years, and just hanging it up. Funny how that works – folks get busy, get bored, find other DSC_0147interests… I dunno… but their blogs sit there, unposted, and they fade off into never-never land. Sometimes there are sad stories behind their disappearance, and sometimes, as I said, just boredom or a new interest has taken hold. So, what has been my excuse? I guess my story is a bit sad… for some time I have been pre-occupied with my little buddy, Hadji. It has been a bad year for kitty cats around here. We lost Punkin, my shadow out in the yard, then  Rascal, my shadow in the house, and then it was Hadji’s turn. He was an old fellow. 17 for a cat is pretty ancient. And so, quite honestly, I spent quite a bit of time sitting on his sofa with him, keeping him comfortable. Hadj was never a lap-kitty, but he definitely wanted someone to sit beside him on the sofa. He was a great talker and expected to be answered. Sometimes I read to him – now how dumb is that? So, in the last several months, I read an entire series of books – junk books I call them- nothing intellectual, nothing that required a brain to read (the Victoria Thompson gaslight series), in fact a series I would probably never bother with otherwise, but someone gave me the first 2 or 3 so I just worked my way thru them. I will admit, it is not a period in time that interests me at all – NY City in the late 1800s – Teddy Roosevelt was the police commissioner in the City when the series starts, but it was interesting to see how we have changed our values according to class from then to now. Anyway, the point is, Hadji was more important than blogging, so there it is.

So with Hadj gone, it seemed so strange… my house has never been cat-less for more than a couple nights whenDSC_0692 work was being done or we had to flea-bomb the place and then scrub it down so DSC_0690they did not walk in dried flea spray. Everyone wanted to get me a new kitten… but I had agreed with Charlie that when the time came, Rusty and Dusty would come here to live. Rusty is not real healthy, a little guy with an upper respiratory condition just like Snuffy had. Rusty is a love-bug and loves to cuddle. Dusty can be a lap-kitty when the mood strikes him, but Rusty has to be peeled off. So, after a week of house cleaning and furiously trying to get caught up on chores in and out, Rusty came for a visit. He settled in like he had always owned the place. Dusty, not so much. He ran for the windows, crashed into things, and in general was one scared little guy. He even growled at Rusty. So, he is back at Charlie’s for now. We will try again, short visits, until he can handle it.

So, meanwhile, I have pictures going back for months that I just never got around to even putting on the computer until the other day. And I am so far behind in getting things done I fear I will never get caught up. We have not even taken a vacation for 3 years because Hadj could not be left in a kennel anymore and the only friend I trusted to keep him has a wife who rules and she said NO cats in HER house. So, that ended our going anywhere. They have dogs that rule their lives and they can’t go anywhere either, not even out to dinner together. Amazing, isn’t it? The last time Hadj was left in a kennel for 4 nights he lost 2 lbs. But, it was the last time I got to see my Aunt Kathryn, so it was the chance we took – driving up, visiting, and driving back home.

Anyway, I will try harder to keep up – I have a ton of pictures to share… they may be badly out of date by the time I get them on here. I even have snow pictures I never even got downloaded until yesterday. Imagine that! But I promised a friend a picture of the little visitor we had the other evening. I have seen him a couple times since. He is just so cute- not even a half a brick in size!! And he seems to like hanging around Kwan Yin and her geraniums.

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The Buddha that used to reside here had to be moved as his stump was disintegrating. He is now out in the meditation garden. For those of you who keep score, we still have Spook who still patrols the yard and gardens and keeps the Buddha of the Back 40 company. And even tho he is still well, Spooked easily, he hangs around when I am gardening – from a distance.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

FROM THE E.S. NEWS, May 2014

 

The building, which was Onley's freight station, is the only station on the old New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad line that has never been moved from its original location. The station was in use until the 1960s and in its heyday saw tons of local produce and seafood loaded onto rail cars bound for city markets in the North.

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Jan Siglin shows a model train diorama she created for use in the Historic Onley Station. The Society for the Preservation of the Onley Train Station is in the process of renovating the station. (Photo: Staff photo by Jay Diem)

Story Highlights
  • The 1885 Onley train station had fallen into such disrepair by five years ago it seemed unlikely it would last much longer.
  • A small group of volunteers turned that scenario around with a lot of hard work and financial help from the town, charitable organizations and community members.
  • On June 1, the station celebrates the 129th anniversary of its opening with a renewed physical presence and a new purpose.
  • The building, which was Onley's freight station, is the only station on the old New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad line that has never been moved from its original location. The station was in use until the 1960s and in its heyday saw tons of local produce and seafood loaded onto rail cars bound for city markets in the North.

The 1885 Onley train station had fallen into such disrepair five years ago it seemed unlikely it would last much longer.

A small group of volunteers turned that scenario around with a lot of hard work and financial help from the town, charitable organizations and community members.

"We heard through the rumor mill they were going to burn the building down in 2012," said Jan Siglin of Onley, one of those who rallied to save the station in 2009.

On June 1, the station celebrates the 129th anniversary of its opening with a renewed physical presence and a new purpose — to encourage people young and old, including those who use wheelchairs, to learn about and play with trains.

The building, which was Onley's freight station, is the only station on the old New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad line that has never been moved from its original location. The station was in use until the 1960s and in its heyday saw tons of local produce and seafood loaded onto rail cars bound for city markets in the North.

Old photographs show wagons loaded with strawberries, cabbages, potatoes and other produce lined up for a quarter mile along the street, waiting to unload.

The first station agent was Albert J. McMath.

The passenger station adjacent to it was moved decades ago and is now a private residence.

In 2009, the town signed a 25-year, $25 lease for the building with Cassett, the railroad management group, and the organizational meeting for the Society for the Preservation of the Onley Train Station was held at the Onley firehouse.

Since then, a few stalwart members of the society, called SPOTS for short, can be found every Saturday morning at the station, working to get it in shape for its new use.

The vision for a fully accessible station offering train-centric programs for young and old came about after a SPOTS member saw a magazine article about the "wheelchair engineers" model railroad program.

"So we fell in love with that idea and we started designing the station toward that end," said SPOTS President Niall Finnegan.

The group in five years has accomplished much, including the crucial step of getting a new roof put on the station, along with making other repairs outside and inside, putting in new windows and getting electricity in the building.

A wheelchair ramp was installed last summer.

Among the most challenging tasks was replacing the huge 12-by-12 beam across the south end of the station, which was virtually destroyed by years of having produce-laden trucks back up to the station door and run into it.

"The trucks would all back up over here. They would just basically run into the building ... that was how they knew to stop," said Siglin, SPOTS' vice-president.

From refinishing the floor to installing drywall, insulating walls and painting, the interior also began to take shape, with two model train table layouts in various stages of completion in opposite corners of the large room. They are built to be be fully wheelchair accessible.

Over one hangs the lights from the original crossing signal, which a member took home and cleaned up.

Siglin is working on a landscape mural on two walls as a backdrop to the layouts.

She pointed to another corner. "Over here is going to be the rugrat corner. Hopefully we will have a little story hour a couple of times a month," featuring, of course, books with railroad themes, like the Boxcar Children series.

"We're starting to build up a library," Siglin said.

SPOTS members are serious about their vision to work with youth; they have already undergone background checks and taken training in youth protection.

What's needed now are resources and workers to complete an accessible bathroom in an addition to be built onto the station's south end so the group can begin holding programs and events at the station.

"We would really like to start holding some of these classes by this fall," said Finnegan.

Additionally, they plan to build a portable garden-scale model railroad layout on a 22-foot trailer Finnegan donated. The layout will be based on the Boxcar Children books and the trailer will be taken to events and schools as an educational tool.

The town, which has been generous with financial support throughout the project, paid for water and septic installation, and the Eastern Shore Community Foundation has promised a grant to help with the bathroom project.

The foundation also gave a previous grant which, along with the town's help, paid for the roof.

Local wholesale nurseries have given plants to be sold at annual plant sales held to raise money for the station.

Other contributors include Wal-Mart, the United Way and many private donors.

"It's strange, you'll be walking down the road and someone will hand you a $100 check. It's just the Shore way," said Finnegan.

The members themselves in addition to countless hours of work pay dues and purchase their own materials, Siglin said.

It was Siglin who came up with the "Buy the Brooklyn Bridge" campaign to raise money for the Wheelchair Engineers Program. Donors who give $100 have their names put on a list tacked on the station wall. The list includes a number of elected officials, among them Sen. Lynwood Lewis, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, Accomack County Supervisor Laura Belle Gordy and Accomack County Sheriff Todd Godwin.

For $1,000, a person can be named a lifetime member of SPOTS — former Onley Mayor John Willis Kellam, SPOTS officer Pat Morrison and Siglin are in that group.

Community members also have given the group model trains for its program. Godwin gave the group a number of model trains that belonged to his parents.

"We have some HO engines from back in the 1940s that Dr. Mackler gave us, so we've got some really, really nice rolling stock," Siglin said.

It has been a long haul and SPOTS members are eager to get the station up and running at last. It looks like they are on the right track.

Send donations to SPOTS, P. O. Box 144, Onley, Va. 23418. Make checks payable to SPOTS. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Basic membership in SPOTS is $25 per year. Silver Rail Membership costs $50; Golden Spike Membership costs $100; and Lifetime Membership costs $1,000.

SPOTS meets the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Sage Restaurant in Onley.

SPOTS members meet Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Onley Train Station to work; they welcome visitors and additional volunteers.

The group also accepts old model trains. Members will repair those that need it and resell them as starter kits for those who want to get into the hobby.

this article was written by Carol Vaughn, cvvaughn@dmg.gannett.com, and published in the ES News, May 28th, 2014.

A video is also on line at - http://www.delmarvanow.com/videos/news/local/virginia/2014/05/27/9623925/