Volume 12 , Issue 19

Fascinating Memories of Trains & Yesteryear

Roy of Perry, Oklahoma shares fascinating memories of his yesteryears from Missouri to Oklahoma, "I only lived in Newburg, Missouri for a couple of years in the 1950's (after I was discharged from the Airforce) because the town was too small and poor to support a full-time movie theatre plus the fact that the railroad had just recently closed-and-removed the 'roundhouse' which had been there for generations. It had been used to turn the steam engines around for return trips to St. Louis or to Springfield, Missouri as Newburg was the midpoint on the Frisco line between those two cities, and in the early 1950's the trains had all been converted to diesel because the more powerful engines could pull longer trains, faster and with less effort, thus make more money for the companies.

Roy mentions, "Small towns were actually only about 7 miles apart in many instances because that is how far a steam engine could safely travel without taking on more water and wood or coal for fuel. And frequently there would be a gin or feed mill plus a small general store to serve as a local post-office and meeting place for the local folks.

"If there was depot, there would also be a ticket office so folks could board a passenger train to travel a 100-miles or so to the big city for shopping and entertainment. There might also had been a local tavern and/or red-light district to entertain the railroad crews.

"Small hotels were frequently built in the larger communities so that folks could spend a night or two to rest from a long train ride. There were two hotels and a drug store adjacent to my theatre which was located on Front Street, across from the Frisco depot.

"My theatre was a converted vaudeville house and the 2 projectors had been there since the 1920's. Sound heads had been added in the 1930's and the older carbon-arc lamp houses were still the low-intensity type. That theatre is still in existence and has been converted back to a community playhouse that brings in small bands (mostly country) and traveling shows. One of the (sometimes) entertainers there is Pake McIntire (Reba's brother) with his country band.

"I returned to Oklahoma when I decided to get a college education at the same time as my youngest brother who was just graduated from high school. I majored in electronics engineering while he was a business major. We took some basic classes together (math, college English, history, business law, etc.) but then split for classes in our respective fields. We both worked as projectionists at a local theatre and did most of our college homework in the projection booth between projector changeovers. That way we could party after hours and still get enough rest for the next days classes."

Roy of Perry sent us this update of Oklahoma's weather, "So far Perry has been spared again but the storms have been striking all over and haven't finished yet. The casino east of Red Rock was hit but no injuries known yet. One vehicle in the parking lot was overturned and there's been some power line damage. Southern Oklahoma has also been hit, but haven't heard anything yet."
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