Time for something different. Joe and I crossed Sixth Street to enter the former Traverse City Library, now the History Center, which is currently hosting the annual Train Festival. Two tickets transported us to another time. Generous rooms featured outstanding displays of yesteryear’s metal monsters steaming through miniature towns laid out on expansive tables. Along their perimeters were lots of labeled red buttons begging to be pressed. Giggling, I happily complied. Planes and Santa flew, signs lit up, welders welded, and giant wind turbines turned. My favorite? Cows dashed about inside corrals at my command. Cool!
Oh, wait! We paused at a tiny zoo – to witness high drama! A careless guy had fallen into the lion’s cage: the beast was crouching... And, who should be on scene with camera-on-shoulder to capture it all, but a 9 and 10 News guy, along with his familiar TV truck! Wonderful!
There was, of course, one special button that triggered a train’s movement. Ohboy! I pushed it, and gleefully watched as my chosen mini-behemoth chugged along, puffing smoke and woo-wooing its whistle. It roared into a big, dark tunnel and emerged out the other end, cow-catching a memory…
When I was six my mother took my fellow classmates and me to Saginaw’s Potter Street Station to ride the train to Bay City, a 30-minute journey. I still remember being gobsmacked by the enormous machine. I wasn’t brave enough to touch the giant cab, but other schoolboys were patting the engine’s powerful iron wheels and begging the engineer to let them climb up to his aerie. They hadn’t a hope, and knew it, but won a wave from the Main Man, properly outfitted in overalls and a train hat. When the conductor yelled “All aboard!!” I had to be lifted up to the first stair: that was how huge it was. When the monster huffed and puffed and began to move, every child was saucer-eyed with delight…
As I dreamed, Joe nudged me and pointed to a curly-haired two-year-old boy who’d caught his attention. The little guy planted a toddler-sized plastic stool (thoughtfully provided by staff) firmly on the floor next to the vast train table above his head. Then he climbed up and drank in the park, the city, teeny tikes on bikes, and the splendid train moving heavily through it all. When it chugged past, he climbed back down, moved his stool two feet further, and rose again, trembling with anticipation, to view the amazing sight from the slightly different perspective. He did this again and again!
The child was transported! His eyes shone; he spoke not one word, but simply stared, not missing one detail. This was heaven. His family enjoyed watching him even more than the trains.
The second floor held more wonder: the circus was in town! A huge Big Top tent was cut away to reveal the show. A long line of giant elephants moved ponderously through the town toward the entrance, Wow! A great show was about to unfold! And, of course, roaring along the perimeter of the room-sized table was the big circus train, pulling gorgeous, colorfully painted cars specially designed to transport the various exotic circus animals.
A beautiful Christmas tree twinkled; laughter and choo-choo sounds rang through the building. Even the walls displayed huge old posters of trains moving toward exotic locations. Their artful presentations tempted town-bound families to chuck their routines and have an adventure. All they needed was a ticket to ride!
To rekindle old-fashioned delight, simply snatch up a youngster – or ‘out’ your own inner child — and come here!
All aboard!!
Oh, wait! We paused at a tiny zoo – to witness high drama! A careless guy had fallen into the lion’s cage: the beast was crouching... And, who should be on scene with camera-on-shoulder to capture it all, but a 9 and 10 News guy, along with his familiar TV truck! Wonderful!
There was, of course, one special button that triggered a train’s movement. Ohboy! I pushed it, and gleefully watched as my chosen mini-behemoth chugged along, puffing smoke and woo-wooing its whistle. It roared into a big, dark tunnel and emerged out the other end, cow-catching a memory…
When I was six my mother took my fellow classmates and me to Saginaw’s Potter Street Station to ride the train to Bay City, a 30-minute journey. I still remember being gobsmacked by the enormous machine. I wasn’t brave enough to touch the giant cab, but other schoolboys were patting the engine’s powerful iron wheels and begging the engineer to let them climb up to his aerie. They hadn’t a hope, and knew it, but won a wave from the Main Man, properly outfitted in overalls and a train hat. When the conductor yelled “All aboard!!” I had to be lifted up to the first stair: that was how huge it was. When the monster huffed and puffed and began to move, every child was saucer-eyed with delight…
As I dreamed, Joe nudged me and pointed to a curly-haired two-year-old boy who’d caught his attention. The little guy planted a toddler-sized plastic stool (thoughtfully provided by staff) firmly on the floor next to the vast train table above his head. Then he climbed up and drank in the park, the city, teeny tikes on bikes, and the splendid train moving heavily through it all. When it chugged past, he climbed back down, moved his stool two feet further, and rose again, trembling with anticipation, to view the amazing sight from the slightly different perspective. He did this again and again!
The child was transported! His eyes shone; he spoke not one word, but simply stared, not missing one detail. This was heaven. His family enjoyed watching him even more than the trains.
The second floor held more wonder: the circus was in town! A huge Big Top tent was cut away to reveal the show. A long line of giant elephants moved ponderously through the town toward the entrance, Wow! A great show was about to unfold! And, of course, roaring along the perimeter of the room-sized table was the big circus train, pulling gorgeous, colorfully painted cars specially designed to transport the various exotic circus animals.
A beautiful Christmas tree twinkled; laughter and choo-choo sounds rang through the building. Even the walls displayed huge old posters of trains moving toward exotic locations. Their artful presentations tempted town-bound families to chuck their routines and have an adventure. All they needed was a ticket to ride!
To rekindle old-fashioned delight, simply snatch up a youngster – or ‘out’ your own inner child — and come here!
All aboard!!