Letters_09-33

Jeff Green | Aug 20, 2009

Re: Smiths Falls Railway Museum, Bill MacPherson

I was browsing through your webnews, as is my usual practice on Fridays, and was reading some of the excellent comments and reports within.

However I was quite taken aback by the referral in the Central Frontenac Council report to “that piece of junk in Smiths Falls” made by Councillor Harvey. I am not a member nor volunteer at the local railway museum, but it has been a source of delight and a fountain of knowledge for my children and an enjoyable site to visit for a family outing. My family's history is tied deeply to a railroading past; my father, Philip, began his working career as a bridge and building foreman before he took off to farm in Smiths Falls, and of course the K&P passed through Grandpa Norman's farm on Bolton Creek, north of Sharbot Lake.

It is your choice whether or not to support the development of a railroad museum in Sharbot Lake, to recognize what was once an integral part of your community.

The councillors and volunteers in Smiths Falls have chosen to celebrate that heritage. The Railway Museum in Smiths Falls is the result of countless hours of devotion and work by not one but several generations of dedicated volunteers working both to restore and preserve relics and memories of a bygone era for future generations to view. If one compared the before and after of the museum building, it is an amazing feat of restoration and preservation. One also cannot ignore their work on the rolling stock collection available for public viewing.

In short, a museum in Sharbot Lake is your decision, but please don't discount the hard work of the volunteers in Smiths Falls. Even better, take time on your next trip to Smiths Falls and drop in for a visit.

Bill MacPherson, Smiths Falls