Saturday, August
8, 2009 -- Registration begins at 8:19 a.m. at the New Sam Rayburn Student Center Traditions Room (2nd floor), Texas A&M University-Commerce in Commerce, Texas. This is a free, public event to share, document, preserve, and celebrate the legacy and experiences of the employees and families connected to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway in northeast Texas and system-wide.All former and current railroad employees, family members, and any interested individuals are encouraged to attend.
This event will feature noted author and historian, Steve Allen Goen.
Mr. Goen’s keynote presentation will address post-WWII passenger operations on the Cotton Belt, the resurrection of a portion of the late Roger S. Plummer’s photo collection for publication in
The Cotton Belt Color Pictorial, and working with a major model manufacturer to produce a Cotton Belt locomotive. Gayle Gordon, director, and Cheryl Westhafer, Local History Librarian, at the Commerce Public Library will conduct presentations on using the internet for historical research and the collaborative project to digitize their collection of Cotton Belt/Railroad Artifacts.
A panel of individuals comprised of current and retired railroad employees and family members of former railroad employees will be assembled to discuss their experiences and the impact of the railroads on local culture. After a break for lunch, on your own, there will be a self-guided, local tour of sites of railroad significance starting with the Railroad Collection at the Commerce Public Library. Other sites on the tour include the former Cotton Belt Yard & Roundhouse Grounds, Blacklands Railroad Locomotive display, Railroad Partners Motorcar display, old Texas Midland Freight Depot, and the East Texas Model Railroad Club Layout open house.
Cotton Belt and railroad artifacts from the Commerce Public Library and the Arkansas Railroad Museum’s Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society collection will be on display. Attendees are invited to bring and display railroad photos and other artifacts. The proceedings will be videotaped for historic preservation and entry into the Libraries’ Collections and Digital Archives.
Parking will be available in Lot E, SE corner Stonewall & Bryan Streets.
http://www.CottonBeltRoute.com/
For more information, contact
Jason_Davis@TAMU-Commerce.edu, 903-886-8066, 903-886-5598, or Gee Library Special Collections 903-886-5737Presented by the TAMU-Commerce Department of Educational Leadership, the James G. Gee Library, and the Commerce Public Library.
This program is made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.The names and trademarks of Cotton Belt are registered trademarks of Union Pacific, used under license. Railroad photo credits: Commerce Public Library collection, used with permission.