The "Manhattan Optimist Club Bulletin": Vol. 2024 #51: 9-18-24

                              VOLUME 2024            SEPTEMBER 18         NUMBER 51

President Bill Wisdom welcomed everyone and gave us a morning wonderful 911 reflection, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  

ACHES & PAINS:  Sometimes all we need is a smile, no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. 

PROGRAM:  Bill Wisdom introduced Retired Head of Miller Schools of Journalism, railroad volunteer and retired K-State department head, Steve Smethers who gave us wonderful information about “a Kansas Heritage Railroad, the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad”. 

The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad operates on railroad track that had once belonged to the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad, which began service in 1886. Rock Island operated successfully for many years. It was the lifeline of a burgeoning regional agribusiness industry, but after nearly a century, the company was in financial trouble.  Rock Island took out bankruptcy in 1980, and the MKT took title. In 1988, Union Pacific acquired the lines, but company executives decided not to use the portion through Abilene.

Two local men decided to try to save the Rock Island legacy in Dickinson County. Joe Minnick and the late Fred Schmidt approached the Union Pacific and proposed to acquire the Rock Island rail between Abilene and Woodbine, Kansas.  The two railfans had the backing of the community, including some banks in the county. The banks agreed to loan money for the purchase of track between Enterprise and the rural community of Woodbine, population 157 people. Now, that’s rural.  The Abilene to Enterprise leg of the line was donated and that became the railroad route. The non-profit Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad Association was formed in 1993, so it is celebrating 30 years. In 1994, the A&SV operated its first excursion train from Abilene to Enterprise and back.

Over time, the association acquired historic pieces of rolling stock. Those now include a century-old Santa Fe steam locomotive, a first-generation diesel switch engine, and vintage passenger and freight cars.  Among those are a 1902 MKT wooden passenger car, a 1930s vintage Chicago and Northwestern passenger coach, a gondola car made for the Missouri Pacific in June 1951, and a Union Pacific caboose.

Today the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad offers regular excursion trains, private charters, school field trip excursions and dinner trains for a 90-minute roundtrip journey between Abilene and Enterprise, near a historic grist mill. Excursion trains run on weekends from May through September, with dinner trains scheduled every weekend in June and July.  The "Great Pumpkin Express" runs in October, featuring Charlie Brown and Snoopy. "Cowtown Santa Express" runs late November through Christmas Eve.

Riding the train is like immersing oneself in a mobile museum. “A&SV passengers don’t just ride the rails,” Smethers said. “They experience train operations firsthand by touring the engines; observing crew members doing their jobs; asking questions of volunteer engineers, conductors, brakemen, firemen and car hosts.”  Passengers can learn history, see the sites, and enjoy the dining car. For 2023, AS&V Railroad is offering a special Dining Car Heritage Series. Using area restaurants and caterers, the heritage series will offer cuisine that passengers would have experienced on the dining cars of four railroads with ties to local history. Those are the M-K-T, the Santa Fe, the Rock Island, and the Chicago North Western.

Smethers describes the train as an experiential “museum on wheels,” 5.5 miles long and 100 feet wide. Since its inaugural season in 1994, the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad has carried well over a quarter-of-a-million passengers.

For more information, schedules, or for tickets, go to www.asvrr.org.

Doug Jardine is once again riding his bike 500 miles in support of Childhood Cancer.  If you are interested, you can donate in person or on-line.     Great Cycle Challenge
 

SAVE THE DATE: September 28th-KSU Football Parking for the OSU game, October 19th – Aggieville Chili Crawl

Another special thanks goes out to Steve Boeckman for clearing the cul-de-sac at Optimist Park.  There were many treasures it seems.  Thank you for all you do Steve, we appreciate your hard work and dedication.  Check it out at this link:  Cul-De-Sac Treasures

Finance Committee Recommends to the Board that dues are set at $140.00

Stay tuned for information coming soon about Hoop, Holler and Shoot

GUESTS:  No other guests were present this morning.   

Meeting adjourned with the OPTIMIST CREED.

                                                                   Coordinator:  Bill Wisdom

OCTOBER PROGRAMS:                  Program Chairs:  Heather Peterson, Greg McCune and Mike Fincham

                                                                   Coordinator:  Greg McCune

                                                                   Coordinator:  Heather Peterson

                                                                   Coordinator:  Mike Fincham

                                                                   Coordinator:  Mike Fincham

                MORNING MEETING        Coordinator:  Greg McCune