[RITSlist] NEWS RELEASE - RITS ARCHIVES AND MUSEUM - SAVANNA, IL - LEASE SIGNED

Wed May 9 23:05:09 CDT 2007

Paul and those at RITSLIST:
I'm glad to see that the collection will be in a central location and will 
be a wonderful factual history to share with the public as related to the 
great Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad during its existence.

My only concern is that I would hope the location is a secure spot to Mother 
Nature.  This is because as by now, most everyone knows that at 9:30PM on 
the evening of May 4th, 2007, Greensburg, KS, a 1400 population city the 
Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska entered in 1887, was 95% demolished (flattened) 
by an EF5 wedge tornado.  This tornado spanned a 1.7 mile distance traveling 
at 22 MPH, churning everything with a 205 MPH wind.  Basically the main 
structures remaining are the brick courthouse and the concrete grain 
elevator.  Needless to say, little is left of many possessions and homes 
besides leaving 9 casualties.

As this was my childrens and my birthplace, it is hard to see the history 
vanish is such a short time.  Some of my Rock Island artifacts I had planned 
on donating to the Kiowa County Historical Museum there.  Now, I'm glad I 
was living 25 miles straight north and out of the storm path and also, that 
I never made the delivery, as there was little to be saved of documents and 
other artifacts.  In some cases a basement was a safe place while in others 
it was not.  I wonder what the level of security the Illinois facility will 
offer and is there any underground storage that would withstand such 
destruction and be relative free of flooding.  As our climate changes, it 
seems such storms are becoming more prevalent not just in Kansas, but nearly 
anywhere in the continent and I would hope consideration would be given to 
these possibilities before it's too late.
Carl
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Schuch" <schuchpaul at hotmail.com>
To: <ritslist at simpson.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 11:37 PM
Subject: [RITSlist] NEWS RELEASE - RITS ARCHIVES AND MUSEUM - SAVANNA,IL - 
LEASE SIGNED

> TO THE RITSLIST:
>
> RITS IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE FOLLOWING NEWS RELEASE WILL BE
> FORWARDED TO THE NEWSPAPERS, TV AND RADIO STATIONS IN THE EASTERN IOWA AND
> NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS AREAS ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2007:
>
>
> Railroad Historical Society to Open Museum at Former Savanna Army Depot
>
>
> Rock Island Technical Society (RITS) President Jack Carson announced 
> today,
> Tuesday, May 8, 2007 that the RITS Board of Directors authorized him on
> Sunday, May 6 to sign a lease with the Jo-Carroll Depot Local 
> Redevelopment
> Authority, an agency of Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, Illinois, to
> establish a railroad archive and museum at the former Savanna Army 
> Ordinance
> Depot located 7 miles north of Savanna, Illinois on Illinois Route 84.
>
> The Rock Island Technical Society is the historical society for the former
> Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.  The Rock Island railroad began
> service in 1852 near Chicago and was the first railroad to bridge the
> Mississippi River in 1854 between Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, 
> Iowa.
>  The expansion of the railroad during the last half of the 19th century 
> and
> first part of the 20th century eventually provided railroad service from
> Chicago, St. Louis and Memphis to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver, Kansas 
> City,
> Fort Worth, Houston, Amarillo and, via passenger train service jointly 
> with
> the Southern Pacific Railroad, to the state of California.  The Rock 
> Island
> railroad entered bankruptcy in 1975, discontinued operations in 1980, and
> portions were either purchased by other railroads or the track was removed
> by 1985.  Portions of the former Rock Island Lines in Illinois and Iowa 
> are
> now operated as the Iowa Interstate Railroad, the Iowa Northern Railroad,
> and the Union Pacific Railroad.  The railroad had more miles of trackage 
> in
> Illinois and Iowa than in any of the other states in which it operated.
> Therefore, the largest concentration of former employees, rail 
> enthusiasts,
> railroad modelers and historians interested in the Rock Island railroad 
> are
> located in these two states.  The Society made a proposal to the LRA Board
> in January to lease a 2,900 square foot building near the former Army Post
> entrance along with the ground around the building.
>
> The Rock Island Technical Society is incorporated in the State of Missouri
> as a non-profit educational organization.  The Society is an all-volunteer
> organization, with no employees.  Their membership includes about 900
> members nationwide and in two foreign countries.  The Society has officers
> and directors elected at large that serve two-year terms.  The Society was
> founded in 1974 by a group of railroad enthusiasts and railroad modelers 
> to
> preserve and publish information about the Rock Island railroad.  It has
> grown over the years to include many former railroad employees and others
> with an interest in the Rock Island Lines.
>
> President Carson stated, "Our Society owns a collection of historical
> documents and artifacts donated to the Society by the Rock Island railroad
> and by individuals since our formation in 1974.  Some of these materials 
> are
> housed in an archives space located in a former Rock Island depot in
> Fairbury, Nebraska, however a large amount of materials are also in the 
> care
> of individual members of our Society.  We want to gather the items in the
> care of individuals into a location more centrally located to our 
> membership
> in Illinois and Iowa.  The space in building 252 meets the basic needs of 
> a
> heated and air-conditioned space within a reasonable distance of our
> membership.  We want to inventory and catalog these items for managing and
> preserving them and to allow individuals and other entities to use them 
> for
> historical research and education.  Anyone interested in donating railroad
> items to our museum at this time will be welcomed, especially if they are
> from the local Savanna area, and even if the items are not from the Rock
> Island Railroad.  We want to become a part of the railroad family that 
> over
> time has been so much a part of the history of the Savanna area". 
> Savanna,
> Illinois was a rail terminal for the Milwaukee Road and Burlington Route 
> in
> years past.  Several former Milwaukee Road employees in the area have 
> shown
> an interest in the opening of the archives and museum.
>
> Although the Society does not have any employees, RITS' presence in the 
> area
> will promote tourism, which in turn will support the purpose of the LRA 
> and
> forward their goals of providing economic development and jobs in the 
> area.
> RITS will have volunteers present throughout the year on a regular basis
> inventorying and cataloging the Archives materials they own.  "We will put
> artifacts and other railroad items on display and open a portion of the
> building to our membership and the public as a museum for their viewing
> enjoyment and for educational purposes", Mr. Carson says.  "We also could
> have occasional business meetings of our officers and the general 
> membership
> at this location or at larger facilities in Savanna or Galena, which in 
> turn
> will provide some further economic benefit to the area".
>
> The lease for the building has already been signed by both parities and 
> the
> Society has begun to move in furniture and other items.  Carson went on to
> say, "We will have regular open hours for the public on weekends from 10
> a.m. to 5 p.m. starting on Saturday, May 26, Memorial Day weekend.  We 
> will
> stay open on weekends until at least Sunday, September 2, 2007, Labor Day
> weekend".  The Society hopes to draw rail enthusiasts from the local area
> and travelers and vacationers visiting the area.
>
> "The Jo-Carroll Depot Local Redevelopment Authority, LRA, is pleased that
> RITS has decided to be a part of the redevelopment of the Savanna Army
> Depot," said Diane Komiskey, LRA Executive Director. "The visitors that 
> RITS
> attracts can provide economic growth in the two-county region. The 
> Society's
> activities mesh well with the historical tourism and railroading heritage 
> of
> the region, and we are happy to welcome RITS aboard our site".
>
> (END OF NEWS RELEASE)
>
> IF ANYONE HAS ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, THEY MAY BE FORWARDED TO THE
> UNDERSIGNED.
>
> Paul Schuch
> RITS Archives Committee Chairman
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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