Annual meeting day

Frank writes...

Saturday was the date of two annual events, the operation safety meeting and the annual membership meeting. This was the first time in three years that these were held normally, as the last two years have seen them postponed, moved outdoors, etc. It was good to get a chance to see some of the "old-timers" visiting from out of town like Steve Iverson, Dave Conrad, and Rich Block among others.

I didn't really get much done. I showed up not too long before the safety meeting and stopped by the MPB, where a group of Buildings & Grounds volunteers (with a few of us hangers-on standing around watching) were muscling the handcar into place in the center of the new Post Office Gallery. Obviously this isn't the best angle, but I had just walked in the door when the thing was being rolled into place and didn't have time to get a better shot. That's Gerry Dettloff, Al Choutka, Jerry Lynn, and Dave Diamond providing the motive power. The handcar was restored some years back (maybe the 1990s?) after which its display location was moved from behind the depot to the southwest corner of Barn 7. This gives it a bit more "pride of place" once again, but without the "subject to weather damage" part.

The Post Office Gallery isn't intended to tell the history of the post office - rather, it's an allusion to the importance of neighborhood post offices in urban life insofar as they were locations where news and information could be disseminated. That's the reason that the gallery space says "East Union Post Office" on the outside. Inside, as shown, a picture hanging system has been installed so that displays can be easily rotated, and the south wall sports photos taken in the 1950s and 1960s in North Chicago and during the early days in Union to help tell the story of the development of IRM. It's a very impressive space and is now open! The current exhibit, planned to run through 2022 and possibly (but not necessarily) beyond, is a collection of original artwork, photographs, and prints from the collection of the late Julie Johnson.

I also poked my head into the Pullman Library, which is about 90% moved into its new home in the MPB. This is certainly light years better than their old digs at 1 North Main.

After that, the safety meeting took up much of the afternoon, then in the evening there was the annual membership meeting. Congrats and condolences to Dave Diamond, who was reelected to the board, and to Bob Olson, who was elected to fill the seat vacated by Thomas Slater. And in other news, Tri City Railway & Light 483 was added to the permanent collection list. A generous donor has offered to donate towards indoor storage for this car, which would allow the house roof to come off and permit stabilization and cosmetic restoration work to commence.