| Sedalia and the Railroad Offers Something
for Everyone
Contact: Deborah Biermann, Executive Vice President For Immediate Release With a mixture of motion sensor displays, audio-visual presentations, a public art piece and cast characters dressed in period clothing, visitors to the Sedalia Area Chamber of Commerce located in the historic Katy Depot will find the new Railroad Heritage Exhibit has a little something for everyone. The exhibit, “Sedalia and the Railroad,” invites visitors to learn not only about the history of the Katy and Missouri Pacific lines, but allows them to visualize the human drama, communication and commerce that transpired due to the railroads’ influence. “We want to portray the depot as the heart of the community instead of focusing just on the railroad,” says Chamber Executive Vice President, Deborah Biermann. Thompson Museum Consulting Inc., of St. Paul Minn., designed and built the exhibits and renovations to the historic depot was funded in part by federal and state grants. Built in 1896, the renovated depot is a tasteful combination of the old verses the new. “It was difficult to make it exactly like it was 100 years ago,” says Biermann. Ninety- percent of the original woodwork has remained and been restored but alongside original aspects of the depot stand the latest technology in heating and cooling systems. The restoration includes the “best of both worlds” says Biermann. 2. Old verses the new can be found in other ways too. “It’s an old story but a new way of telling it,” she says. “The exhibit reflects the old Sedalia, and some of the ways we tell the story reflect more modern ways to interpret (its) history.” Visitors may want to begin their self-guided tour with a stop in the original lunchroom where they can use a working telegraph in the display, and then proceed to the audiovisual room, occupying the original kitchen area. A four to five minute DVD provides a historical look of the beginning of the Missouri Pacific and Katy Railroads in Sedalia. It covers approximately 100 years beginning in 1857 and ending in 1958 when the last Katy passenger train pulled out of Sedalia. The main exhibition area in the southern part of the building houses period buildings and motion sensor displays that put a face on Sedalia’s history and heart by focusing on varied community and ethnic characteristics. “It’s not your traditional design,” Biermann says. “What we’re hoping people will see is the sense of community created by the railroad. (The exhibits take in) almost every aspect of community development.” Some of the exhibits include a water tower, a rail worker’s house, the rail boss’s house, commercial and business districts, the Missouri Pacific and Katy Shops, area schools and area churches. Each building has a panel that explains the exhibit, and Biermann stresses the importance of reading the panels in order to understand the history in this room. The building exhibits may be viewed in any order. 3. Children ages four to 12 will enjoy a visit to the Youth Activity Room located in the original Ticket Office. They can operate a small train, try on a ticket agent’s hat, a engineer’s cap or a lady’s sunbonnet, “buy” tickets and make a pretend order, to be delivered by train, from a 1909 Sears & Roebuck catalog. Beginning in the fall of 2003 another exhibit will open in the Women’s Waiting Room. As visitors walk into this room motion sensors activate the sounds of rail traffic and railroad workers communicating with each other. Emphasizing the old verses the new theme, the room will appear as it did in the early 1900’s, complete with the restored original woodwork around the fireplace and large spacious windows. Occupying the room will be cast characters dressed in period clothing that will provide an insight of life in that era. “We are trying to represent the railroad employees that worked at the building and the people who used the building,” Biermann says. A mother and son are seated together and motion sensors trigger their conversation about visiting the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. Sitting on another bench is a telegrapher who talks about his life as a third generation railroad employee. Exhibits will also be featured outside the depot. The Wayside Exhibits will help interpret the neighborhood surrounding the depot. Rolling stock, or old train cars, won’t be part of the plan. “We are planning on doing the unexpected,” says Biermann. The Chamber has commissioned metal artist, Christine Shilling of Springfield, Mo., to create a public art piece, a whimsical sculpture of a train. 4. “We are hoping to arrive at a train (design) with different cars representing Sedalia’s heritage,” Biermann explains. For example, she says, the cars would individually represent the Missouri State Fair, Ragtime music, the Rawhide Festival, and the military. Shilling will also work in the community at area schools with an artist in residence program, as she constructs the sculpture. She will begin the sculpture this fall and complete it in the spring of 2004. Bicyclists and hikers along the Katy trail, which runs alongside the depot, will find a little something for themselves also. Located outside in the baggage area is a convenient, public picnic area. The picnic area is an excellent place for relaxing while exploring the trail or while visiting the exhibits. Visiting the historic Katy Depot and the “Sedalia and the Railroad’s” exceptional exhibits is a well-rounded adventure for every member of the family. It gives everyone a taste of railroad history and a feel for the heart of a community no one will leave disappointed. Sedalia and the Railroad Exhibit |
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