Hurry to Currie

June 10th – 12th.
I left Santa Fe the morning of the 9th and arrived in Currie, MN on the 10th. Normally Micki and Kahuna travel with me. It is lonely traveling by yourself, but you do make better time. I got to Currie a day early. I didn’t know what to expect of Currie. Approaching the town a sign said “Welcome to Currie gateway to Shetake Lake. I’m not sure what happened next; maybe a blink or a sneeze, but somehow I missed it. I turned around and decided to watch more closely. There it was, a post office, bank, restaurant, ice cream shop and a hardware store that opened only on weekends. Some of my largest events have been small towns and I’ve learned the smaller the community the higher the level of interest. On the edge of town stood a sign made from railroad spikes “End-O-Line.” I drove on by and checked into my RV spot on Lake Shetake. An hour later I drove back to End-O-Line where I met Gene Short, the director of the museum. Gene gave me a great tour which included how the project got started back in the early 70’s by some 4-H girls looking for a community project. The name of the museum is just what it says. This was the end of the line. There is still a working turntable that is so well balanced two people can still turn it while loaded with an engine. I didn’t get to see an engine being turned, but the following day I would witness a bride and groom being swiveled on the old turn table as a photo opp.

I found it hard to believe the museum was so old. I would have guessed that the entire project was less than five years old. The buildings, grounds and equipment were all meticulous. As you know, my passion is for cabooses. End-O-Line has two wooden cabooses dating from 1942 and 1945. Both are beautifully restored. One is a bay-window and this is the first restored wooden bay window caboose I’ve found during my travels. The community of Currie has a right to be proud of their efforts to show the importance of their heritage. While there someone asked me how I would rate the Currie Museum on a scale of one to ten. I gave it a 10! One exhibit or one building doesn’t give testament as to who you are, it’s the whole package and Currie’s community pride shows at every glance. The houses, commercial area and of course the museum all reflect the efforts of people working in tandem to achieve a common goal.
The next two and a half days would be filled with meeting the docents, area residents, radio interview, and a tour of the Murray County Historical Museum in Slayton. The world needs more Gene Shorts. Gene acted as my personal tour guide for the entire time I was in Currie. Slayton is another beautiful Minnesota town a few miles down the road from Currie. With me dressed in my conductor uniform, Gene paraded me through Slayton’s businesses and county buildings. I felt a little like the advance promotion of “The Circus Is Coming.” As the DJ said during the radio interview “You won’t mistake this guy for anyone else in town.”

I need to give a plug for the docents and volunteers at End-O-Line. Although volunteers are an important part of their operation, the docents for the most part are students that get a chance to cut their teeth on all aspects of business. With Gene as their mentor, they learn people skills while giving museum tours, retail experience as they help run the gift shop, and an appreciation of all the hard work it takes to make a successful business. I couldn’t help but notice how versatile these docents were; one minute helping tourist, the next cleaning the grounds, cutting the grass, or setting up displays. At some point in the future they will no doubt look back and say “That’s where I learned and grew.”

Most of New Mexico gets eleven to thirteen inches of rain a year. If you want beautiful rolling hills of lakes, farm land and trees, then you’ve got to take a little rain with it. It felt as though I got an entire year of rain during the week I was gone. Gene joked with me suggesting I bottle some water and take it home. That didn’t happen, but as I cleaned out my RV I did notice I smuggled in a large amount of rich Minnesota top soil.
That rain was making me nervous for the open house event scheduled for Saturday. The morning started out with a steady drizzle and almost no one showing up during the first hour. But, the rain let up and the sun came out along with people from towns all over southwestern Minnesota. Gene’s work getting newspaper publicity and radio spots paid off. For the next five hours we had a steady stream of visitors coming to End-O-Line. I spent most of the time in one of my beloved cabooses, spinning yarns and listening to tales from others who had railroad stories to share.
Since returning home I’ve received several e-mails from folks I met in Currie. They have been generous in sharing their photos of not just this event, but cabooses that have passed through their lives.

I’ve rambled on more than usual about my Minnesota experience, but my love of that area, the people and of course End-O-Line merit a place in my travel blog. A big THANKS to Currie and of course Gene Short for helping to create a great memory.