It’s time to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous, blessed New Year, dear readers. And welcome to our fourth annual December/January issue – which this year may have accidentally become our first-ever Creekmore Park Train Issue.

Just kidding.

But while this issue is packed like a Christmas stocking with a variety of story topics – ranging from a special Fort Smith connection to the restoration of a rare carousel to the annual hoops hoopla of the Tournament of Champions – you will find several train-related features, too.

Our Kids section gives easy directions for making snazzy candy train goodie. And since one of the main missions of this magazine is extensive monthly coverage of area events, of course we’ve written about Creekmore Park’s annual Holiday Express extravaganza. Perhaps we’re a little partial to this event because it and our magazine both made their debuts in 2000.

Our Senior Editor and all around wonder woman Donna Payne has been one of the hundreds of volunteers for the sponsoring organizations (hers is Sunnymede Elementary School PTA) that make possible the nearly month-long nights of free train rides, refreshments and entertainment at the park. Where would this city be without its legions of great volunteers?

But, in addition to helping publicize the Holiday Express train rides in this issue, we wanted to pay tribute to Larry Burger, probably the most beloved engineer ever of Creekmore Park’s miniature train. He was on board for the inaugural Holiday Express run and will be greatly missed at those festivities this year.

In talking to family, friends and colleagues of Larry’s for his profile, however, we learned of some ongoing projects related to the train that could use some help from our readers.

Chuck Raney is working on a history of the train for an upcoming issue of the Journal of the Fort Smith Historical Society. He’s the chairman of the Journal’s editorial board and he would love to hear from you if you have a story to share about the train.

"The train has been in operation at Creekmore Park since late summer of 1949. The park was dedicated in early summer of 1949, so the train has been at the park nearly as long as it has been open," Raney notes. "Today, grandparents and parents who rode the train are bringing their children and grandchildren to ride it. We would like anybody with an interesting story or experience involving the train to e-mail it or mail it to us. We will use that feedback for a history of the train story to run next summer for the anniversary of its debut at Creekmore Park."

Mail your stories about the train to: Fort Smith Historical Society, Train Stories; P.O. Box 3676; Fort Smith, AR 72913-3676. Or, e-mail the stories to: cdraney@cox-internet.com.

And while you’re at it, why not become a member of the non-profit Historical Society, and purchase a membership to give a friend or family member for a Christmas present, too. Annual memberships are available for as little as $25 per year – $15 a year for students or senior citizens (55 or older.) A subscription to the Journal, which is published twice a year, is included in the membership fee. Each issue of the Journal offers a wealth of interesting stories and information about people and places important to this area. In reading the Journal, you may even discover you have a story worthy of consideration for publication.

Also, it seems the park’s train track, also circa 1949, is in need of repairs – and there have been suggestions that its route through the park be extended, if possible. In 1988, when the train’s steam engine needed major repairs and restoration and there were no available city funds for the work, a Friends of the Train group was formed. The group quickly raised the $55,000 needed for the work to be done. Schoolchildren even helped by collecting buckets of change to contribute to the project. Perhaps a similar area-wide effort will be needed for the track repairs/expansion.

Running the park’s historic steam engine more often than the three times a year it is currently operated might actually be better for the engine, former parks secretary Fran Studdard suggests. And, she added, if running the steam engine more often would require more hours than affordable for the parks employees qualified to operate it, perhaps a special volunteer group of retired engineers could be formed to run it.

Interesting thoughts and ideas that may or may not be doable. But one thing’s for certain – the Creekmore Park train, reportedly the only one of its kind still in operation, is a local treasure that’s worth preserving. It’s also an attraction that draws hundreds people to the park from this area and surrounding states as well. And that helps boost our local economy. Let’s make sure we keep the little train on track.

 

Linda Seubold, editor of Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine, can be reached at lindaseubold@efortsmith.com. Read her archived columns and articles online.

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