Greetings.
I hope everyone was able to enjoy the unusually warm January days made available to us. I was able to get over to one of my favorite train watching spots, Gorham IL. Matt Gentry joined me and we had a fun day watching and seeking out trains on the former MoPac and Cotton Belt lines.
The January meeting was a bit long but very informative. Our meeting place last month was the former Hopkins County Court House located in Madisonville. Bob and Bob from the Historical Society of Hopkins County were excellent hosts and the facility was good. We were treated to a tour of the building and provided information regarding the forth coming Coal Museum. We were not given a lot of information as to the needs and/or expectations of the Chapter if we decide to participate but most everyone agreed this is a good opportunity for our group to get the word out about our local railroad history.
To recap, the entire south wing, which is roughly half of the museum display area could be allotted to the Chapter. We will provide our own display cases, shelving, hangers etc. as well as the display items. Security will be excellent. The museum will be staffed by volunteers. We will have access to the area in off hours. We will have to build, equip and maintain the area we commit to. Filling display cases with railroad and coal related artifacts will not be a problem, we all have something. (I can fill one room myself)! Meeting a work schedule during construction I feel will be easy. Everyone will be eager to participate early on. Down the road (rail), maintaining and manning the museum for special events I see a potential issue. If we commit to this endeavor, we commit fully!
As mentioned in the minutes and at the previous meeting, I would like to grow our Photo Archive, see the Archive on-line in some form and make the information available to other not-for-profit organizations as well. Steve Miller, Jim Pearson and I are the committee members for this project. Submit your ideas to us.
The National Convention will be held in Nashville TN, this is close to home. Will King, Bill Farrell and Jim Kemp are committee members for “Project Nashville”. Let us see what we can do to aid in the Convention.
And as always, National dues are due, March 31 is the cut-off date. Dues received after March 31 will be treated as a new member thus losing member seniority.
I hope to see you February 20, 2017 at the Hopkins County Government Center, 58 N. Main St. Madisonville KY. Meeting time is 7:00 PM. Bill Farrell has refreshment while I will have a combination talk and video program on Port Perry PA and its importance to the steel industry.
.Ricky Bivins, President