Hutchinson Leader - Feature - Comments

Having had the honor of

luckyducky — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:20:59 -0500

Having had the honor of riding with this young lady on her triumphant entrance into town, I was impressed by her and her mom's total selfless dedication to this project. The are truly one of a kind people. There are some people who are the "get out there and do" and there are people who are content to watch and cheer from the sidelines, I am proud to count these 2 as some of my " get out there and do" friends. I hope they are able to get " the Ranch" happening this year! I look forward to joining her on her ride to the Capital on August 31!

Carl was a good friend of

carebear36 — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:03:28 -0600

Carl was a good friend of mine. I was crushed when I found out he had cancer in the first place, but when I heard he was in the hospital with pnemonia- that was a totally different feeling. I went to visit him twice in the hospital and I just remember no matter how tired he was and how much he just wanted to not be going through this- when I woke him up for that few seconds - he was always smiling. We liked to get together after he would get back from the VA hospital from having treatments and have a "family supper." He would pick where we went and it would be him, his mom, his brother (Mitch) my daughter and me most of the time. I still can't believe that he was so upbeat with all that going on in his life. He was one tough cookie. Carl was and forever will be loved by many. We will miss him dearly.

When I heard about Carl's

jtschida — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:06:30 -0600

When I heard about Carl's death all I could picture is this little boy I used to babysit for. My name is Janell Tschida (Hoppe), my parents use to live by Greg and Debbie when Carl was just a little tot. Hearing how he was as an adult doesn't surprise me in the least. The Carl I use to babysit was just as funny and always making me laugh, always wanting to do something weather it was coloring in a book or just going to the park and running all day long. Seeing his picture I would of never recognized him. Last time I saw Carl probably was when he was 7 yrs old. Keeping my prayers and thoughts for this tough time for all who knew Carl and to his family. God bless you all.

i wish i would have thought

Aura_Lee — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:54:23 -0600

i wish i would have thought of that. then i could only get in trouble once every four years for forgetting the anniversary

I can envision the depot

Terry Davis — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:00:58 -0600

I can envision the depot being utilitized by a handful of groups. The 1887 Great Northern Railway-built depot essentially had four rooms that each stretched the width of the building in its final years of use by Dakota Rail. What many people overlook is that before automobiles came along, railroads were about the only way people and goods moved about, especially for anything more than a few miles. Hutchinson would likely not be the city it is today if it did not once have three railroads connecting it to the Twin Cities.

The general public entered the GN depot through a door near the northeast corner and into a small room that included access to a restroom. I could see that room being refurbished into a visitor center where the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources could put maps and other materials for the nearby Luce Line State Trail and the still-to-be-developed trail on the former GN/DAKR right of way. The chamber and city also could provide a rack of materials promoting local business and services the city has to offer. The restroom could be restored for use by visitors, such as trail users. I would suggest a remote camera system linked to city center, police or the chamber, to provide security because I think it would be financially impossible to staff the depot except for perhaps with volunteers on weekends.

Going south in the building, the next room included the bay window on the east side. This was the operations room for Dakota Rail. It had its radio there, and desks for its administrative staff and general manager. Since a bay window is what many people recognize as a symbol of a depot, I think this room could be used for historical displays depicting a working depot, along with other displays, perhaps from the McLeod County Museum. It could feature pictures of Hutchinson's railroad heritage on the walls (we had three railroads and two other depots). Maybe put a telegraph set on the bay window desk.

This room is accessed from the first room by a door in the middle of the north wall. That door could be made secure, so that only the first room, the visitor center room, is open to the public on a regular basis. There is a pass through window next to the door that perhaps could be made secure with protective glass so that even when the museum room is not open or staffed it could be viewed by visitors stopping in.

The third room, was used by DAKR as its conference/crew room and featured a large conference table, cabinets, etc. I think it could remain as a conference room for use by community groups needing a place to have meetings of up to 15-20 people. Luce Line Railroad Club Inc. is one group that could have its monthly meetings there, as could chamber committees, city departments, museum board, United Way board, and others. The more groups that use it the better, as that higher level of traffic would provide some visibility and some sense of security to the building. Better to have people using it than for it to seem forgotten.

The final room is the large freight room. This room has scratched in graffiti on the walls put there by past railroad workers and town residents. Some are 100 years old. This would perhaps be a good place for the model railroad group to build a model railroad depicting how Hutchinson looked in about 1915, when Hutchinson had just welcomed its third railroad, the Luce Line (Later known at various times as the Minnesota Western, Minneapolis & St. Louis/Minneapolis Industrial Railroad and finally the Chicago & North Western), joining the GN and Milwaukee Road (this line arrived from from Glencoe in 1886, too, and ran along the east side of Jefferson Street where all the apartment buildings are now. The depot was near the corner of Fourth Avenue Southeast and Jefferson.) Actually, the model railroad could depict any time up until Feb. 1957, when Milwaukee Road was the first to leave town. The model railroad could be open a couple times a month on weekends or for special community events, such as Water Carnival, Arts & Crafts, etc.

The model railroad club has done much of the work thus far to at least preserve the building, but may not have the manpower or financial resources to carry out the restoration by itself. That is why I envision a multi-agency effort including the city, the chamber, the museum, the DNR and probably Historic Hutchinson. The fire in 2001 caused extensive damage. Before that, the depot was in good enough shape to walk in and start using it right away, with remodeling ongoing. I'm not a contractor, but knowing what some other depot restorations cost, the plan I outline above is likely going to cost at least $100,000, and perhaps as much as $250,000.

The rail authority has said it does not want to disturb the soil around the building to put a basement in because of the possibility of there being old railroad contaminants in the soil. Unfortunately, the building rests just on wooden beams, which create a somewhat unstable floor surface. I would envision the building may need to be jacked up and a concrete slab poured underneath. That would be a big part of the cost.

Costs perhaps could be kept down through the use of some volunteer labor and donated materials and services. Federal (ISTEA) and state (historical society) grants are available for projects such as this that interpret railroad history. Private grants from local and area foundations, and railroad preservation groups, including the Great Northern Railway Historical Society (I'm a member) are also a potential source of money. Kalmbach Publishing of Milwaukee, publisher of Trains and Model Railroader magazines, gives away an annual $10,000 grant to projects such as this.

Other communities have helped pay for depot restorations with a "platform paving stone" project such as was done with the nearby Veterans Memorial Park. In Princeton, Minn., a GN depot that looks like the one that once stood in Litchfield is being restored with the help of money raised through an "adopt a (railroad) tie" project.

What seems to be lacking at this point is a core group of people, respected in the community with connections, dedication and a passion for railroad history and its preservation, to carry the project forward. It should have a cross-section of representatives from the potential user groups, as well as the city and rail authority.

It will take time, but I think it can be accomplished. Towns with a lot fewer resources than Hutchinson have accomplished greater things. I always Currie, Minn. as an example of what can be done. That little town has perhaps the best example of a railroad preservation effort in the state. It all started 20-25 years ago with two high school girls looking for a 4-H project and deciding to clean up the area around the town's decaying Chicago & North Western depot.

Today, the End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum includes about 10 buildings — the beautifully restored depot (with a model railroad showing Currie in 1900), the original hand-operated turntable, a replica two-stall engine house with a steam engine inside and a small diesel engine and caboose outside, a replica water tower (Hutchinson's GN depot had one nearby at one time), a replica coal bunker that doubles as a screened-in picnic shelter, a restored railroad section foreman's house, a general store, rural school house, rural church and a miniature rail town scene. All the buildings are furnished with period furniture and other items. A second steam engine stands in front of the depot. You get a guided tour of everything on weekends, Memorial Day to Labor Day, for only $3. A few years ago, they build a new visitor center/gift shop/meeting room/restroom building. This all by a town of 300 people! Totally amazing. Visit www.endoline.com to see what Currie has done.

You can see more pictures of the Hutchinson depot at the Luce Line club's Web site: www.luceline.tripod.com/main.html

Come on Hutchinson! Get on board a depot restoration effort!

What should the depot be?

Matt McMillan — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:50:03 -0600

What should the depot be?

I've heard it should not be moved to continue to viewed as an historic structure. Given that requirement, what should or could the depot be?

Its position at the end of Washington Avenue is prominent. It also has parking space available to it -- a bonus for any downtown building.

The famous Frank Lloyd Wright gas station in Cloquet, Minn., is an example of a business operating in a building of note. What do you think? Leave your feedback here.

If your child has a phone

arcy — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:12:21 -0600

If your child has a phone they are using it during school, unless the school has equipment that tells them the phone is not on the students'person. Kids can text while the phone is in their pocket. With 30+ students in a classroom no teacher is going to catch every student using their phone. Kids are willing to chance it, time and time again. The comment about putting every thought in print is excellent. As in Edin Prarie, kids are not getting how public it is to send stuff through the air waves. We are paying a high price for the "security" of knowing kids can get a hold of parents at any second. It certainly did not do Drue Shadene (spelling?) any good. False security of you ask me.

Here is my opinion on it. I

JohnDoe_the_IV — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:02:19 -0600

Here is my opinion on it. I have three kids and they all have cell phones. With my current plan it is cheaper to own cell phones and then get rid of my home phone. We just purchased the youngest her phone and she is ten and in the fourth grade. We live in a small town and her friends from school live in a four town area. All calls out of the town are long distance and in the long run it is cheaper than using the home phone.
I also like the idea that when she goes to the park with friends or walks home after school or is home alone she can contact me on my phone. As far as texting goes, I do not completely get it. My oldest daughter who is fifteen we allowed last month to have a small plan of 350 text she then went over that amount. She is a very good student and does not use it during school and helps out around the house with her younger siblings to earn the cell phone cost. We did increase it to a 750 text per month plan and the total cost is 9.99 extra per month on my plan. Now, it would probably make good sense for me to just give her the unlimited so I can make sure that I do not recieve a surprise few hundred dollar bill, but I refuse to do that. She has been informed that if she goes over the 750 text that her cell phone will be taken away for one whole month with no exceptions and that she will not recieve texting on her phone when she gets it back. That way I am putting the responsibility in her lap that she has to make sure she budgets the texts and keeps it under control. I would say that one of the biggest issues is the fact that she may get close on her numbers and then others will continue to text. I tell her to let her friends know or you will loose your phone. I do not think I am being unrealistic but kids do not need to text all the time. I am trying to understand how the texting is a way of the times but it is hard. And quite frankly kids are a bit nieve to put all their thoughts and comments in print.

i heard that they had to

Aura_Lee — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:11:13 -0600

i heard that they had to take away number 4's cell phone so he wouldn't text during the game

Haha thats funny!

banderson — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:13:04 -0600

Haha thats funny!

(Quoting ragnyb) "Nothing

John Jennings — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:35:26 -0600

(Quoting ragnyb) "Nothing typed by someone's thumbs has ever been important."

Truer words could not be said.

Nothing typed by someone's

ragnyb — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:25:25 -0600

Nothing typed by someone's thumbs has ever been important.

I'm definitely anti-phone in

Eric Kraushar — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:46:52 -0600

I'm definitely anti-phone in schools, and I don't buy the safety argument. There are land-line phones in each classroom that teachers can use to call 911 if needed.

Why should teachers be expected to spend class time making sure kids don't use cell phones? Why wouldn't parents want teachers to spend every minute available teaching?

It just makes no sense that cell phones are allowed in school. Who do you call/text? The person down the hall who you could walk too. The person you see at lunch. The person you see after school. Leave the phones at home.

Parents it is time to start

IN Jones — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:58:59 -0600

Parents it is time to start acting like parents. If your child is not responsible enough to know when and how to use a cell phone, then do not let them have one. It is not the responsibility of teachers and principals to keep your child from using a cell phone during class. If a parent provides them with a cell phone then that parent should make sure that they follow the school's rule about cell phones. It is easy to know if your child has broken the school's policy. Check the bill every month. Most bills include the time that calls were made. If calls are made during school hours, take the phone away during the day. Monthly bills also list numbers that are called. This will help you keep track of who is being called and who your kids are friends with. You may not be a "cool" parent but you will raise children who are respectful, honest, and responsible and for that the rest of us will applaud you.

Advertisers have lured us

arcy — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:36:27 -0600

Advertisers have lured us into thinking we do a lot of stuff in the name of our "kids safety."
Be careful of slippery slopes! I over heard this one yesterday. Teens trying to make plans, one says call me, gives the house phone number, the second teen says "I don't do parents". So now we don't need to learn phone manners, talk to adults we would have to be polite to? Our kids are conversing with who knows who, not the parents. Wake up parents, kids need limits, standards,and filters. Someone is dropping the ball!