Wellsboro Pennsylvania

...continuing with our October road trip through parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia.  Our next stop was Wellsboro Pennsylvania.  It had been highly touted in the on-line 'travel-verse' as one of the best small towns to visit in the state. 

The Penn-Wells Hotel opened for business in 1870, although it was initially knows as the Cone House after the owner's name.  A.P. Cone actually built his hotel on the site of a previous hotel that had burned down in 1866.  Next it became the "Holiday Inn" as it was owned and operated by a fellow named B.B. Holiday.  Then it became the Parkhurst House and finally Coles House.  A fire in 1906 destroyed the 3rd and 4th floors.  

The hotel was reborn as the Penn-Wells in the mid-1920s as the area welcomed an increasing number of leisure travelers.  Elements of the structure from 1869 have been preserved and the old time elegance of the interior includes 1920s era finishings and decor.  Note the American flag in the second photo above.  It was created for a Corning Glass Works Christmas party in 1946 with the end of WWII.  It's made up with 1,438 glass Christmas ornaments.  To learn more about the Penn-Wells Hotel and it's sister Lodge, go to https://www.pennwells.com/.

This two-story red brick building in downtown was constructed in 1880.  It is part of the Wellsboro Historic District as list on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Historic District covers 360-acres and it includes 531 contributing buildings, 3 contributing sites and 4 contributing objects.  The properties include commercial structures, churches, residential areas, a park and 2 historic cemeteries.  As happens all to frequently, the paper work that was submitted to qualify the area for the National Register has never been input into the tracking NRHP system so detail is hard to come by...

Historically, in the early 1900s, Wellsboro was a shipping point and trade center for a large area.  It had fruit evaporators, flour and woolen mills, a milk-condensing plant, marble works, saw mills, a foundry, machine shops and manufacturing companies producing cut glass, chemicals, rugs, bolts, cigars, carriages and furniture.  In 1900, there were 2,945 residents and in 1910 there were 3,183.  Today the town is home to about 3,458 people.

Note: The biggest attraction in the area is the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.  Officially Pine Creek Gorge is a 47 mile long gorge carved into the Allegheny Plateau by Pine Creek.  It's deepest point is 1,440 feet from the rim and the rim to rim distance is about 4,000 feet.  To learn more, just go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Creek_Gorge.  We skipped it due to my Afib issues and the walking entailed...

The Wellsboro Diner remains unchanged from the time it opened in April of 1939 at the town's busiest intersection.  This is a Sterling Diner (#388 - eighth one built in 1938 by J.D. Judkins Co. from Massachusetts.  It was originally named Schanacker's Diner.  I borrowed the interior photo from the Internet.  Located at 19 Main Street, the diner has a stainless steel exterior, a low-arched roof and pale green porcelain walls.  The owners changed the diner's name to Wellsboro Diner in the 1960s.  It wasn't time to eat yet, so we didn't sample their diner fare... The Diner is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/p/Wellsboro-Diner-100089417522142/.

I didn't find much information about this handsome United Methodist Church at 36 Main Street in Wellsboro.  The Gothic Revival style structure replaced an older Methodist Church in 1905 at the same location.  The previous building had been deemed unsafe for use in 1900.   The entrance to the church features a lintel stone from the Old Rectory in Epworth, Lincolnshire England...the original home of the Wesley family.

As in Ridgway Pennsylvania, Laurie was a bit disappointed with the number and quality of shopping opportunities in Wellsboro.  Still, she managed to find a couple of promising shops to peruse.  This Victorian style home at 15 Main Street offers two floors of antiques, collectables, gifts and home decor possibilities.  Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/p/Karens-Country-Store-100050564600457/.

When Wellsboro's Arcadia Theatre opened in December of 1921, it had one screen and it could seat 900 patrons.  The first film was of course a silent movie entitled "The Old Nest".  Having been built to show silent films, the theatre was equipped to provide the musical equipment needed...an organ, a piano and even an orchestra box.  In 1929, the Arcadia became one of the first theater in the northern states to start showing "talkies".

In 1987, the Wellsboro Hotel Company, owner of the Penn-Wells Hotel and Lodge, purchased the theatre.  With the success of television, the theatre's attendance and it's condition declined. However, in 1996, the theatre was completely renovated.  In March of 1997, it reopened as a state of the art 4 screen cinema...while preserving that classic old-time theatre feeling.  Special features now include "Dinner and a Movie" and live theatrical shows have been added and the theatre is prospering... Learn more at https://arcadiawellsboro.com/.

The Tioga County Courthouse, or at least the core building, was completed in 1835.  The architectural embellishments evident today came along much later.  For nearly a century, this courthouse was a trim but modest Federal-style 'block' built with dressed local sandstone.  By the 1920s local politicians decided that they wanted a more distinctive structure to represent the county.  Consequently, a Scranton Pennsylvania based architect replaced the two-over-two windows with nine-over nine windows.  He also added a rear wing, added a Federal-style entrance with the fan-light window and he erected the Corinthian portico with those impressive columns.  Further expansions have added to the original structure as the county's needs increased.

This red brick building at 114 Main Street is the former Tioga County Sheriff's residence.  It was built in 1860 at a cost of $10,000.  Later, until 1985, it served as the County Jail.  The structure is now the home of "Develop Tioga", "Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce", and "Growth Resources of Wellsboro".  Unfortunately I didn't capture a picture of the elm tree in at the front of the building.  It is one of the largest in existence and has been growing since sometime in the 1700s.

This is Wellsboro's "Green Free Library".  As you can see, it is not your typical small town (or large town) library!  The library was the former home of a wealthy lumber baron and banker.  It was built in 1855.  The home was remodeled by the owner's daughter in 1898 and it was named "Chester Place".  The woodwork is top notch.  Note the classic grandfather clock in the corner.  The former home also features a marble fireplace and a Tiffany window.

In 1910, citizens of Wellsboro organized a group to raise money to open a public library.  In 1911, Charles S. Green, a wealthy local lumberman bequeathed $50,000 for the incorporation of a "Green Free Library" in Wellsboro.  The owner and her heirs donated the home to the Green Free Library in 1916.  After some remodeling, the Green Free Library moved from its temporary location in a vacant storefront to "Chester Place", which opened in 1917.  Learn more at https://greenfreelibrary.org/.

The Jesse Robinson House or Manor at 141 Main Street in Wellsboro is a three-story Queen Anne style home that was built in 1888.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  This 5,342 square foot home, located on a half acre of land features stained glass windows and two prominent balconies.  In the past it has served as a hospital as well as home for several owners.  Currently it serves as a residence and dentist office.

This eye-catching Italianate home at 140 Main Street in Wellsboro was built ca 1850.  It's known as the "Lincoln Door House".  That red front door of the residence is purported to have been a gift from Abraham Lincoln to Dr. and Mrs. J.H. Shearer when they purchased the home in 1858.  Allegedly the door came from a building in Springfield Illinois.  It is well documented that the Shearers were close friends with Lincoln when they lived in Springfield.  While no one has been able to document the door's origins, it certainly may be a true story...

Laurie would have loved to browse through this shop at 6 East Avenue in Wellsboro!  She's always been interested in the possibilities of the supernatural.  Unfortunately, "Enchanted Hollow" was closed when we stopped by. (Probably fortunate for my wallet!) In any case, Enchanted Hollow sells, crystals, oils, incense or witch balls and they say that they have "your Faery, Witchy and Angel needs all covered".  You can check this store out at http://www.enchanted-hollow.com/.

As we rolled east out of Wellsboro toward Mansfield Pennsylvania, Laurie got lucky when we spotted The Farmer's Daughters Antiques and Gifts shop along US Hwy 6.  They offer lodge and cabin decor, antiques, re-purposed furniture, unique lighting and (unfortunately for me) candles...as well as a year-round Christmas room.  After helping the local economy at Farmer's Daughters, we headed down our final stretch of highway to our overnight stay in Mansfield.  For more about this shop, go to https://www.thefarmersdaughtersshop.com/.  

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Maysville Kentucky - Continued

Continuing with our October road trip with more sights and history from Maysville Kentucky.  This city is loaded with historic structure and my camera was at the ready as we wandered...or shopped...through town.

This is the Russell Theater.  Located at 9 East 3rd Street, it was completed by Col. J. Russell Barbour in 1930.  Construction costs totaled $125,000 and the first movie shown was "Whoopee!" starring Eddie Cantor.  The site occupied by the theater was previously home for wholesale grocery warehousing.  The exterior architectural style is Spanish-Moorish Revival.  Constructed as a movie theater, Col. Russell did provide dressing rooms for live performers as well as an orchestra pit.  

In 1935 another company took over the theater.  In 1953, the Russell Theater was the site of the world premier of "The Stars Are Singing", starring Rosemary Clooney.  In the early 1970s another group took over the theater and they operated it until 1983.  For a number of years it served as a restaurant, a used furniture store and a used clothing store before it closed.  After it was abandoned, high winds ripped off a section of the roof.  Since repairs weren't immediate the interior plaster work was extensively damaged.  Restoration is underway, tours are offered and the theater is open for movies on weekends from May through October.

Note: Rosemary Clooney was raised in nearby Augusta Kentucky and her nephew George Clooney grew up there.  A mural of Rosemary Clooney is featured on Maysville's flood wall.

This is a miniature model of what the interior of the Russell Theater looked like originally.  It was what was termed as an 'atmospheric' theater.  Atmospheric theaters were a movie palace design that was popular in the late 1920s.  They were meant to evoke a feeling of a time and place for theater goers, using architectural elements, ornamentation and projectors.  

The Russell auditorium was decorated as a Mediterranean garden with Lombardy poplars and literary busts set in wall niches.  At the end of the movie, a rainbow would appear over the stage.  The renovation continues... To learn more just go to https://www.russelltheatre.org/.

I've included these photos just to contrast Maysville's 2nd Street as it appears now as compared to a photo/postcard from ca. 1900.  I'm basing that early date on that very primitive automobile shown on the postcard.  Note the trolley tracks and the matching electrical power line right above them.  I'm guessing that the street was paved with bricks but its hard to be certain based on the picture.

Part of the Maysville Downtown Historic District, this is the Nelson Building.  It consists of two storefronts sharing a 'party wall', thereby creating 2 major bays.  The upper floors would have once been professional office space or apartments.  The huge Roman arched windows and the belt courses of stone indicate a Richardson-Romanesque influence.

One store front, at 9 West 2nd Street, is occupied by the Sprinkles and Hope Bakery and Deli, which trains and employs people with disabilities.  The bakery/deli offers cupcakes, cookies, breakfast sandwiches, salads and ice cream.  At 11 West 2nd Street, that second storefront, based on recent information on the Internet, one can imbibe at Kenton - "Stores with a Spirit".  They offer books, an art gallery, coffees, liquor and an interesting menu for its guests.

This handsome 3 story structure at 38 West 2nd Street in Maysville began life in 1871 as the Pierce and Wallingford Bank.  I was unable to learn anything about the bank company but I did find this company bank check for sale on eBay. (Asking price - $398.98!) Given the date on the check, (1867), its a fair guess that the bank was operating somewhere else before it opened its doors in Maysville.  The building is now known as the Hay House and it's a gift shop that specializes in greeting cards, gift wrap, ornaments and a variety of gifts for any occasion.  

The Maysville Downtown Historic District is about 4.5 blocks long and 2 to 2.5 blocks wide.  When the National Register for Historic Places application was completed in 1982, the area contained 155 buildings, a cemetery and a sculpture.  62% of the structures were commercial and 28% were residential.  The other 10% of the historic district included 5 churches, 2 theaters, a high school complex, a library, a museum and 5 governmental buildings.  87% of the buildings were built before 1930 and 92% were brick.  The first floor occupancy rate was 98%.

This is the Cox Building.  It's located at 2 East 3rd Street in Maysville.  I borrowed this photo of the building from the Internet as it was so much better than the picture I took... Construction of this Richardson-Romanesque style building began in 1886 and it was completed in 1887.  The tower at the corner, the large dormer-type windows on the 4th floor, the distinctive chimneys, curved windows and that big circular stained glass window, all combine to grab one's attention.  

The building was designed to accommodate 3 large storefronts on the ground floor with appropriate storage space for the stores on the second floor.  Up to 9 tenants could occupy the upscale professional office space on the rest of the second floor.  Originally the Cox Building was a 5 story structure.  The upper 3 stories were explicitly designed for use as a Masonic Temple, specifically for the York Rite "Knights Templar".

In 2010 the roof of the building, as well as the 4th and 5th floors were destroyed by a fire.  The city has worked to restore the structure to its original grandeur...bringing it back to life.  It was rededicated in 2012.  Currently it provides space for special events and offers tours to visitors.  Occupants include the Maysville-Mason County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Ohio River Valley Artist Guild, the Masonic Lodge, the Downing Music Academy and the Maysville Community and Technical College Culinary Institute with its bakery and cafe.

Perhaps the most unusual building on Market Street is the former IOOF lodge.  Located at 221 Market Street, the building's attention grabbing polychrome Venetian Gothic ornamentation dates back to 1914.  The building appeared to be unoccupied during our visit to Maysville. 

FYI, I.O.O.F stands for the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows.  This fraternal organization promotes friendship, love and truth as guidelines for daily lives and they are involved in various activities, functions and charitable events that support their goals.

Note: See the person about to enter the building at the left of the old I.O.O.F. structure.  That spelled 'trouble' for me...

Laurie just had to explore "Elementz", a small boutique gift shop at 225 Market Street featuring 'upscale gifts for you and your family'.  Maysville and Kentucky crafted items are a primary focus with items available for babies, kids, teens, women, men, pets and the home.  Laurie scored with the purchase of 2 Christmas Holiday swags.  The good news for me was that she got them for 30% off the normal price... Elementz can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/elementzonmarket/.

As I was researching other buildings and historical structures in Maysville, I 

came across this blast from my past...sort of...because while I may be 'older', I'm not this old.

As I was researching other buildings and historical structures in Maysville, I 

came across this blast from my past...sort of...because while I may be 'older', I'm not this old.  As I wandered around Maysville, I don't know how I missed this building with its symbolic "The Spirit of Progress" figure at its decorative center peak.  This was retail giant Montgomery Ward's quality symbol and I spent a good deal of my work life with this company.  The building was constructed in 1928 as a Montgomery Ward department store.  It has been renovated and as best as I could determine, it's been serving as a conference center.

These are photos of the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge.  It spans the Ohio River between Maysville Kentucky and Aberdeen Ohio.  This suspension bridge was built in 1931 to carry US Hwy 62 across the river.  At that time it was the only bridge spanning the Ohio River between Portsmouth and Silver Grove Kentucky, a distance of 110 miles.

The official opening of the bridge was on November 25, 1931.  As was the custom of the time, caravans of auto club members from across the state traveled to the event.  It was declared a holiday in Maysville.  Lights were strung across the bridge and a grandstand was built for the dedication ceremonies.  Several thousand people attended the event.

This is one of the few surviving historic suspension bridges on the Ohio River.  The steel "X" pattern steel towers are a special feature.  The main span of the bridge is 1,060 feet long and the total length of the bridge is 1,991 feet.  Tolls were collected for passage over the bridge until 1945...when there was another celebration.

This is the William H. Harsha Bridge and its located just a couple of miles downriver from the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge.  This new cable-stayed bridge opened in 2000 and it handles a lot of the traffic that would have used the old bridge.  Noisy truck traffic can now bypass downtown Maysville and less traffic on the old bridge will expand its life expectancy.  Since its opened for traffic, the old bridge has been closed a couple of times with significant repairs and upgrades taking place.

The new Maysville (William H. Harsha) Bridge has a main span of 1,050 feet and a total length of 2,100 feet.  Each of its towers consists of battered reinforced concrete cellular shafts.  The deck of the bridge is 60 feet wide.

With the construction of the flood walls, the old Louisville and Nashville Railway depot was moved about a quarter mile south from its original location and this new depot was constructed in its place.  As the article notes, the old depot was repurposed by the city for offices and the fire department. 

This is the old Chesapeake and Ohio Depot in Maysville Kentucky.  This Georgian-style depot was built ca. 1918.  The first photo was borrowed from the Internet as it shows the front of the depot.  The depot is one of the few buildings near downtown Maysville that doesn't sit behind the floodwall.  Of course, neither do CSX Transportation's double tracks.  

Amtrak refurbished the old depot.  It had closed in 1968 and it was rebuilt in 1971.  The depot is located at the corner of West Front Street and Rosemary Clooney Street.  It now services Amtrak's Cardinal trains 50 and 51 with service on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.  The depot lacks a station agent or station services but it does have a waiting area that is furnished with traditional wooden benches.  In 2023, the depot served 2,111 travelers.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

First a Movie and Then PIzza Too!

Continuing with our road trip to St. Louis and Omaha to visit family.

Bonnie and Bill had returned from a wedding up in Peoria Illinois, so as usual when visiting Laurie's family in the St. Louis area we were out and about with Laurie's sister Bonnie and Bonnie's husband Bill.

We decided to take in a movie...by actually going to a real movie theater! 

I didn't note the name of the movie theater and I wasn't ready for the 'accompaniments' shown above.  Some vestiges of the above 'look' exists at our favored theater in Farragut Tennessee...but this St. Louis County theater in Missouri has taken on a multi-functional role in its attempt to attract customers, hopefully to watch movies!   Even so, the huge game room was almost empty and  the bar was devoid of any customers.  

Oh yes...we did come to the theater to watch a movie.  It was the first of Kevin Costner's planned four part exploration of the western USA.  This segment/movie is titled "Horizon - An America Saga (Part 1).  Apparently we were among the few who saw this movie during its opening week.  It was about 3 hours long and kept cutting back and forth introducing the viewers to the primary characters.  It lacked clarity and it didn't seem to conclude at a meaningful point.  Release of the second part of the "American Saga" has been postponed. 

One thing  that our little group does well is to seek out and consume varied types of food... In this instance it was time for pizza.  Dewey's Pizza is a regional chain with 25 locations in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky.  This is the Dewey's restaurant in Webster Groves Missouri.

Laurie and I have eaten in one other Dewey's Pizza restaurant.  It was in Kirkwood Missouri.  In both restaurants the pizza kitchen was really busy!  Dewey's seems to be very popular.

Dewey's bar was almost overwhelmed and the dining room had very few tables available.  We were lucky and were seated in quick order.  As you can see, the decor is simple and colorful...with that industrial 'look' in evidence...very appropriate for an upscale pizza joint.

Using ingredients of his choice Bill 'built' and ordered his own 11" Pizza.  The items included olives, artichokes, bell peppers, onion, tomato and pepperoni.  As you will note, I forgot to take any photos until a fair amount of 'damage' was done to each pizza.  

Yours truly also built his own 11" pizza.  It included pepperoni, Italian sausage and fresh jalapenos. ($19.00) I thought that it was better than any pizzas we've found in East Tennessee...with one exception.  I really appreciated that extra 'pop' provided by the jalapenos!

Laurie and Bonnie decided to split a 13" pizza.  Dewey's features a number of 'specialty pizzas' and this one is the Edgar Allan Poe.  It featured olive oil, mozzarella and fontina cheeses, mushrooms, whole roasted garlic cloves, kalamata olives and goat cheese.  After baking, both pieces of tomato and parsley are added. ($21.75)

We all enjoyed our pizzas but no one could finish their servings.  Bill ended up with a lot of nice leftovers!  Nothing like cold pizza for breakfast!

Dewey's Pizza in Webster Groves Missouri is located at 122 East Lockwood.  They feature 15 different specialty pizzas or you can 'build your own'.  In addition Dewey's offers calzones plus 5 entree or side salads.  The company's website is found at https://deweyspizza.com/.  

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit! 

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Road Trip – Missouri (Part 10)

…continuing with our back road adventures in Missouri, this time focusing on the northern tier of the state close to US Hwy 36, a 4-lane highway that is mostly not a limited access roadway.  The speed limit is 65 mph vs. 70 on I-70 further south, but the lack of traffic and trucks plus a smoother roadbed, makes this our preferred route across Missouri to I-29 North to Iowa and Omaha Nebraska.

I’ll take up where I left off on my last post about our road trip…in Marceline Missouri. This post may be ‘just a bit long’, even for me.

The photo above shows the first Marceline Santa Fe Railroad depot, a frame structure that served the down for over 20 years.

In the early to mid-1800s, the area where Marceline has been established was open with farms and cattle across the prairie.  Then, one day in 1886 representatives from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (aka the Santa Fe Railroad), turned up in the neighborhood offering enticing prices for land, obtaining contracts as needed.  In 1887, the Missouri Division Point for the route on the line between Kansas City and Chicago was platted and, in January 1888, the first town lot was sold in the city of Marceline.

The town was named for the wife of one of the directors of the railroad, whose Spanish name was “Marcelina”.  The city became a boomtown almost overnight.  It grew so fast that only 6 months after that first lot sold, Marceline had 2,500 residents.  Today, the city has a population of 2,123.

This handsome new Santa Fe Passenger station and office building replaced that old frame depot.  This sold brick structure was dedicated in April of 1913.  At that point, Marceline had only existed for 25 years…and now it had a first class passenger depot.  It had 107 windows and over 200 – 100 watt lights.

In the early 1900s, the railroad also built a separate structure which was called “The Reading Room”.  Santa Fe employees could go there, read books or play the piano.  It was featured in a 1909 edition of the Santa Fe railroad worker magazine.  Occasionally special performances were staged there.  Marceline enjoyed special appearances from people like Shirley Temple, Mae West, W.C. Fields and Clark Gable.  In return the performers would travel on the Santa Fe for free.  Sadly, by the 1940s, the Reading Room was gone…

The Marceline Santa Fe Depot closed in the 1980s, with the last Amtrak Passenger train stopping here at the unmanned depot in 1997.  After standing empty for a couple of years, in 1999 the depot was purchased and converted into a museum, which opened in 2001.  More on that to follow... That double set of tracks is quite busy though.  Three or four freight trains roared by during our visit.

The EP Ripley Park, adjacent to the old but renovated museum, contains two pieces of railroad equipment that are of interest to railroad fans around the country. 

This is not a coal burning locomotive but rather an oil burning version.  Locomotive #2546 is a Consolidation type (2-8-0) engine built in 1911 by the Alco Locomotive Works for the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway.  It was sold to the Santa Fe Railroad in 1927.  The locomotive weighs almost 112 tons and the tender weighs about the same.  The tender could hold 8,000 gallons of water and 3,657 gallons of oil. 

Locomotive #2546 was donated to the City of Marceline by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1955.  Note the designation painted on the side of the tender.  Walt Disney requested that the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad be painted on its side… Why would he do that?

That little park in Marceline is also home to an EMD SD40, a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division.  Santa Fe #5008 was built in 1966.

Locomotive #5008 had a benefactor who was intimately connected to her.  Sam Baily, a retired Santa Fe and Burlington Northern engineer singlehandedly restored this engine.  Now that is a real retirement project!  Sam had actually operated this locomotive as a hostler, (an engineer who moves a locomotive between shops, rail yards and fueling tracks), when the locomotive was only 2 years old.  He was also at the throttle throughout his career.  #5008 was retired 2 months before Sam did.  Marceline was selected as the home for this locomotive because it was once a division point for the Santa Fe Railroad.

A modest section of the interior of the museum contains a selection of railroad memorabilia, such as the Santa Fe ‘grandfather style’ clock, the old cash register and that little step stool that would have been used when boarding passengers.  The woodwork around the ticket windows has been well maintained.  Love the ‘look’ of the uniform too…

There are small reminders of days past in other objects such as these Santa Fe caps.  Ticket agents used to wear their caps on the job but I haven’t seen one in use for many, many years.  Looking on eBay, a variety of different old railroad caps are up for sale, ranging in price from $50.00 to over $300.00.

The old brakeman’s cap is the most interesting to me.  Their original job was to assist in the braking of a train by applying the brakes (frequently for the roofs) on individual wagons or cars.  The advent of braking systems that could be controlled by the ‘driver’ or engineer, allowed that person to slow and stop the train.  Brakemen also provided ‘flag’ protection from following trains if his train had to stop, ensuring that couplings were set correctly, and assisting with switching operations. 

The number of brakemen jobs continues to decline.  As of 2018, there were only 14,270 brake men or women employed in the USA.

It’s probably just a quirk with me but I do love old railroad and airplane china, drink glasses and flatware.  They don’t sell for a lot but they just make me feel good.  I have a set of 8 cocktail glasses from the Burlington Northern Railroad and one dinner knife from United Airlines.

Looking at eBay, I noted Santa Fe Railroad dishware items with asking prices ranging from $47.77 to $180.00.  Glassware seems to be generally lower…

But to what does this former Santa Fe Railway Depot…now a museum…focus on that earns it a lot of attention and visitors?

The big Mickey Mouse figure wearing a railroad engineer’s outfit at the entrance does provide a significant clue.  The little bronze with Mickey and Walt Disney is yet one more clue.  The old Santa Fe Depot in Marceline Missouri is now the “Walt Disney Hometown Museum”.  As Walt is famous for saying, “It all started with a mouse”.  More on Disney and Marceline follows in this post.

Mickey Mouse, a world famous cartoon character, was co-created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1928.  Mickey is almost always characterized as a sympathetic underdog that gets by through pluck and ingenuity despite facing challenges bigger than he is.  He is one of the most recognizable and acclaimed fictional characters of all time… Walt not only co-created Mickey but Walt also provided Mickey’s voice in the beginning.

We aren’t particularly enamored with Mickey Mouse, Disneyland, Disney World or cartoons…but we both truly appreciate those who strive to build something and who succeed even beyond their imagination.  This museum is more about Walt Disney…the boy and the man…then it is about his cartoon characters, amusement parks or movies.

The photo above shows Walt Disney and his brother Roy during a visit in 1956 at the Santa Fe Railroad Depot in Marceline. 

Remember that wood frame depot at the beginning of this post?  It stood on the exact same spot as the new depot/museum stands now.  It was that depot that welcomed the Disney family when they moved to Marceline.  Flora Disney arrived first with the 3 youngest children including Walt.  Elias Disney and their 2 older sons arrived a few days later in a boxcar loaded with family belongings and 2 horses that Elias had purchased in the Chicago stockyards.

Elias and Flora’s children were Herbert, Raymond, Roy, Walt and Ruth.  Walt was only 4 years old.  At his young age, he wasn’t expected to do much on the farm so he was able to explore and his experiences in the area spurred his imagination.  I think that the photo above may be mislabeled as Roy was older than Walt.

Main Street in Marceline was imprinted in his memory and all Disney Parks feature a “Main Street” attraction.  His Uncle Mike was a Santa Fe engineer and he often passed through Marceline, sparking Walt’s love of trains.  Walt also attended a play about Peter Pan, one of his favorite stories.  When Elias Disney’s health failed in 1911, the family moved again, this time to Kansas City.  But Walt never forgot Marceline and his experiences in the area helped shape his future successes.

Walt Disney's visit in 1956 was for the dedication of a park and swimming pool named after him.  He was accompanied by his wife, Lillian, Roy Disney and Roy’s wife.  Walt had visited Marceline before…in 1948 when some filming was done here.  He returned once again in 1960, when the town’s new elementary school was named after him.

A variety of Mickey Mouse related items are scattered throughout the museum.  If you go online and look at Mickey Mouse eBay collectables, there are more pages than I have the patience to go through.  As a youngster in the 1950s and into the mid-1060s, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a bicycle like this one…

The Walt Disney Hometown Museum opened in 2001, just in time to celebrate Walt Disney’s 100^th birthday.  The museum’s displays were built using the personal collection of Ruth Disney Beecher, Walt’s younger sister.  She had been close with both Walt and Roy and she knew how fondly they remembered the hometown of their youth.

This is an original Mark I Arrowflite Tracked Junior Automobile.  It was built as part of the Midget Autopia Ride built for Disneyland (CA) in 1956.  The cars on this ride ran on a center rail and kids got the illusion that they were steering it.  That ride was closed for a new ride in 1966.  Walt gave this auto to Marceline along with remnants of the ride which were installed in the town’s EP Ripley Park.  Eventually, it was taken down and this car has been preserved. 

This is one of the rooms displaying Disney artifacts.  Walt himself presented that Mickey flag to the city in 1960.

The Walt Disney Hometown Museum covers 10,000 square feet and it includes over 4,000 Disney related artifacts that don’t exist elsewhere.  Included are: personal family artifacts donated by the Disney family; family letters; original artwork by graffiti artist Arcy, including a portrait of Walt; information on “The Marceline Project”, Walt’s plan to build a live history park in town; a Collector’s Gallery with items loaned and donated by Disney collectors from around the world, and; memorabilia from the premiers of 2 Disney movies that were first screened in Marceline.  Those movies were “The Great Locomotive Chase” in 1956 and, “The Spirit of Mickey Mouse” in 1998.

Laurie does own a few old dolls but nothing like these early Mickey Mouse dolls from the 1930s.  I found one on-line with an asking price of $1,995.00.

When Walt Disney visited Marceline in 1960 in order to dedicate the new elementary school, he also donated custom playground equipment and he had legendary Disney animator Bob Moore create murals throughout the school with some of the most famous Disney characters.  Those murals are restored on a regular basis and are still there for the school children every day.

Over the years, Walt Disney had repeatedly related that the Coca-Cola Building in Disneyland was modeled after the Zurcher building in Marceline Missouri.  For years the connection between Coca Coal and that structure had never been quite understood or verified. 

It turned out that Albert Zurcher had constructed an apartment annex behind his jewelry store in 1919.  When that annex burned to the ground in 2002 and the debris was taken away, the ‘lost sign’ that Walt would have seen as a child was discovered.

In late 2015, Coca Cola sent a team of artists to Marceline and they restored the historic “Coke” wall.  A company historian thought that it was probably originally painted in 1906, the year that the Disney family moved to Marceline.  Note the advertisement for Hutcheson’s Furniture and Undertaking above the Coke Sign.  Roy and Walt made a little money cleaning the company’s horse drawn hearse.  As per Walt’s memories, Roy did all the work while Walt laid inside the hearse and played dead.

There is even more about Walt Disney and the influence that his time in Marceline had on him…but this post is way too long already.  If you made it to the end and read all of this, I’m impressed!  To learn more about this museum, go to Walt Disney Hometown Museum (waltdisneymuseum.org). 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a longer than usual visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave