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Quick News
FORT WAYNE, IN, Nov. 28 —
Full steam ahead
By Nancy Vendrely
The Journal Gazette
As restoration nears end, members hope 765 back on rails
It's dirty work, gritty work - slow-moving and painstaking.
And the pay is zero.
But for the true believers, helping to bring the historic Nickel Plate 765 back to life supersedes all that. When they think about it, they can almost hear the old steam locomotive hissing and running again, sending a plume of smoke aloft as it chugs along a track.
That soul-satisfying moment won't come for a few more months, but the members of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society are a lot closer now than they were when they realized their beloved behemoth needed major repairs and restoration. That time is measured in years.
It was 1993 when the 765 had to end its 14-year life as the society's excursion-train star. The engine needed overhauling but there was no money to pay for it, so it made one last trip, to the society's maintenance building on Edgerton Road east of New Haven, and there it sat.
Read the entire story HERE
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Editorial
The year is rapidly drawing to a close. Again, we have seen the development of many amazing newsworthy events. Times change. A quick look back over the year will show just how rapidly things do change. Fortunately for us, things change for the better, too.
Throughout this year, I have attempted to keep you informed on the rapid changes taking place with Berkshire 765. A quick look at the Past Issues will show just how much has changed.
We started the year with a report that work had finally started on the 765. After many years of talk, hopes, and fundraising, everything was put into place and work started. Progress was swift, too. My fear was that, as time dragged on, volunteers would lose interest and work would slow. Fortunately, as the year progressed, my worries we proved unfounded. The 765 has a dedicated extended family.
In February, the 765 was lifted off her wheels for the first time in more than forty years. What an event! This proved to me that the intentions were real. The possibility that 765 would steam again was achievable. And, that sight! Boy, that was some sight. The first time I saw her sitting without any drivers under her was astounding. It is, I am sure, something I will never forget.
Later in the year, I provided an explaination for my love affair with the 765. It was, after all, Grandpa's Train. This was a historical look at my introduction to 765, my perceptions of her and on those around me, and the pursuit of the engine that haunted me.
Later on, we previewed and followed the annual Open House. This is a hallmark event. It signifies the winding down of summer, the return to school for some, and the reinvigorating of the base as well as a reintroduction to the community.
The year wound up with spectacular news from the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. The Society would become known to the community as TrainTown. Plans were also laid out for the future of TrainTown. Wonderful plans! Conceptual drawings were unveiled and excitement was unbrideled. The group also made headlines, as can be seen to the left under Quick News. And it was mentioned that the restoration was ahead of schedule to boot!
2003 should see 765 return to steam. That would make the year for me. But if the group continues to progress as they have this year, look out! What a year it will be! Hats off to all those volunteers. With you, it couldn't have been the year that it was. Thanks, and happy holidays!
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Feature
Merry Christmas
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Christmas. What an unassuming phrase. Yet, at the root of the word, as it should also be with our lives, is Christ. Most often, we say the word, or write it, with hardly a thought about that root. Probably just as often, we live that way as well. Most of us plow through the season with little thought of the importance of Christmas. We've been initiated into the mindset that getting those gifts so that everyone is happy is our chief goal. But when a man is born and gives his life so that all others can have eternal life, and so many people show so little respect for that greatest of gifts, how can what we provide on Christmas Day have any real significance? In other words, when so many people throw away the greatest gift of all, why should we feel so obliged to gift those who are so ungrateful? What's more, how often do you let the spirit of giving overshadow what you know is most important about the season? Rest assured, you are not alone. We all fall prey to this type of giving.
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Naturally, a large part of the holiday is giving. That's part of the celebration. So long as we remember what has made this celebration possible. Certainly, no red suited, fat man would require such a world-wide day of reflection. It isn't about him. But he is a happy part of the celebrating. Buying lavish gifts isn't what the season is really about. But it can be a special way to tell others that they are important to your life, too. Christ is the central point to the wonderful Christmas season. Everything else is merely icing on an already scrumptious cake.
However, as some would have it, Christ cannot be mentioned in various areas of life. In parts of Canada and America, the country founded on freedom from religious persecution and freedom of speech, even the word Christmas is being avoided. Deemed politically incorrect and insensitive to others, Merry Christmas is being replaced with Happy Holidays, a more benign phrase. Frankly, this is cowardly behavior. Without Christ, there would be no Christmas; there would be no holiday. If Christmas offends thy ears, then turn thy head and blindy ignore it.
Perhaps I feel this way because of where I live. I live in a small community. My entire county has a population 100 times less than the city in the next county. My town still has live actors portraying biblical scenes on the court house lawn. And without protest. Tollerance isn't absent from my vocabulary. Yet, of those that claim to be most tollerant, they seem to be most intollerant of ideas that clash with their own. The Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah often in conjunction with the Christian celebration of Christmas. There's no fighting between those two faiths. The celebrate with their own reasons and leave others to enjoy what they may. Why aren't non-believers so easy to get along with? What are they offended by? Truely, if one didn't believe, why would there be a resentment towards the name of Christ? For a nonbeliever, wouldn't it be just another name?
Still, there are other celebrations that have been invented to piggy-back on the day of our Savior's birth. Kwanza was, according to KidsPartyFun.com,
"established in the 1966 to provide an opportunity for the African American community to celebrate their heritage and reinforce positive community values." What a wonderful idea. Surely this celebration achieves its goal with those that participate. However, I do question the timing of this celebration. Why was it necessary that it fall at such a holy time. Surely the african-american community does not feel that their heritage is more glorious than the birth of their savior. Why, then, does it fall on the calendar at the time that it does?
I enjoy the Christmas holiday. I also love to learn about other faiths. I don't harbor any ill-will towards Kwanza or any religiously based celebration, either. I don't, however, feel that Kwanza requires the same attention as Christmas. And I don't feel that our society should turn a deaf ear towards the fact that Christmas is based upon the birth of Jesus. I do feel that we should remember the spirit of the holiday and let our best light shine. Give thanks to the Lord. Praise Him and worship Him.
And to all, including those that this may have offended, Merry Christmas!
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