TINY TRAINS … Attendees of the Museum of Fulton County’s Hobo Day celebration enjoy the model train installation at the Wauseon Depot.
PHOTOS BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
RAILWAY PHOTOGRAPHY … Train enthusiasts take photos of a passing BNSF train as it speeds by the Wauseon Depot on Saturday.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Train enthusiasts, local history buffs, and just plain hungry folks showed up at the Wauseon Depot on Saturday for the Museum of Fulton County’s Hobo Day celebration.
The event included a free-will offering hobo dinner of sausage, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions, corn bread, a dessert and drinks, the proceeds of which go to help fund museum operations.
Attendees were also able to tour the depot, now the permanent home of the “All Aboard” exhibit formerly located at the museum, which shares the history of trains in Fulton County.
“Our biggest thing about this year is the train exhibit which was at the museum was specifically built and made to be reinstalled in this depot.
“So, everything you see in here now it’s like a full-on train museum inside the depot, and we’re super proud of that,” museum Events Planner and Business Manager Doris Piercefield said.
According to Piercefield, Museum Director John Swearingen, Jr. took measurements of the depot building when the train exhibit was originally built to ensure the transfer would be possible.
There is also a large model train setup in the depot that was installed last winter.
In addition to the Hobo Day festivities, the museum also participated in the Worldwide Day of Play, centered around children learning while they play. The museum’s celebration included old fashioned Lincoln Logs a giant checkerboard, and a small LEGO train set, among other offerings.
The Wauseon Depot is currently open only for the third Sundays in June, July, and August, for Hobo Day, and for Christmas with Santa in December.
“We would love to be able to open this up more often for people to be able to come in and see it, because there’s a lot of really good information,” Piercefield said.
Upcoming events for the museum include its monthly Artful Academy on October 4, the Fulton County Historical Society Annual Meeting and Banquet on October 7, and its annual Haunting History Tour on October 24. The Haunting History Tour will be held in Lyons this year.