"Takin' Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon

[NW Mailing List]

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with six of the Brethren
and Friends of the Virginian Railway. Attending with us was Vickie Sowder,
one of VGN Clerk Wis Sowder's identical twin girls.  I was able to greet
Vickie as she arrived and impressed Wis with the correct name.  He said "it
took me about ten years before I could tell them apart."


 We signed a Sympathy Card for former VGN Surveyor Dewey Houck, who lost
his wife of 61 years, Sheila Snyder Houck, last Saturday.  In lieu of
flowers, donations may be made to Rural Appalachian Improvement League
http://www.railwv.org PO Box 171 Mullens, WV 25882.  Online condolences may
be expressed to the family at www.oakeys.com  .+


 Thanks to all of you who sent Happy Birthday greetings.  I am blessed to
have so many friends!


 For Show and Tell I took an advanced copy of the August" NRHS News" which
features a four page spread with six color photos of the restoration of the
Virginian Passenger Station in Roanoke.  I also told the Brethren about a
generous donation by Norfolk Southern of furniture for the office in the
Station.  This included a 14 foot cherry conference room table that was
used by the N&W in the GOB since 1947. Wonder if the N&W-VGN merger was
formulated around this very table??? Thanks NS.


 To continue our "VGN poem series"  thanks to Doug Bess for the following
one inspired by the lease by the Kanawha River Railroad of the Deepwater to
Maben portion of the former Virginian".:


 From Deepwater to Maben
 Something here is a changin'
 The grade over Silver Gap
 Will now see engines of yellow and black
 But not like those of our fallen Virginian


 Then there's this from March 26, 2009:  "Ken McLain told the Brethren that
when he was a lad, his family was so poor that they could not afford such
things as a laxative.  "When I got constipated, they just put me on the
toilet and told me ghost stories."


 Time to pull the pin on this one,


 Departing Now from V248,


 Skip Salmon


 DCXV
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