(rshsdepot) Holly, MI

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

=46rom the Tri-County Times...

Funds will help revive idle
historic depot
By Chad Walsh
Staff Reporter

  Holly =97 For the last 47 years, the Holly Depot has stood idle. As of =
this
week, however, the Depot Restoration Committee is several steps closer to
reopening it.

  "I want to make sure that if I=92m going to be a good advocate, I need =
to
know what I=92m advocating for," U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers told an aud=
ience
of about 20 citizens and village representatives Monday while presenting =
the
village with $140,000 in federal funds to be used for the depot. "Thank y=
ou
for allowing me to be a good advocate."

  Shortly after winning the District 8 U.S. House of Representatives seat
last November, Rogers made a stop in Holly inquiring what he could do for
communities who elected him to office. One item mentioned was the depot,
closed in 1954.

  The funds, in addition to $110,000 budgeted from grants from the state,
puts the project at nearly two-thirds completion, said Community Developm=
ent
Director Bill Cousins.

  State funds will be put to use this spring to renovate the depot=92s br=
ick
facade, including new windows.

  A few years ago, the village paid for a new roof to ensure that the dep=
ot
did not fall further into disrepair.

  Cousins said the federal funds will pay for new heating and plumbing, a=
s
well as new rest rooms and a new floor. He added that the depot will need=
 to
connect to the village=92s gas line and expects that in order to do so, t=
hey=92
ll have to bore under the tracks.

  Built in 1886 at a cost of $6,500, the depot is located on a patch of l=
and
between the CSX (Canadian National) and Grand Truck railroad tracks, whic=
h
in 1853 became the state=92s first crossing.

  Depot Restoration Committee Chairwoman Greta Mackler said at the time, =
the
depot was considered to be among the top five depots in the state.

  Since then, Cousins said several presidents have campaigned along those
tracks, including Harry Truman, George W. Bush, Sr., who made a stop in t=
he
village, touring and dining during a campaign stop in 1992, and Bill
Clinton, who stopped for a speech from the back of his train just west of
the village.

   Rogers said he=92s excited about the restoration.

  "I=92m look forward to seeing this project come to fruition," he said.
"(Holly=92s) already such a beautiful place, and downtown main streets ar=
e
worth saving," Rogers said, adding that while on the way to the depot, he
commented to his aide that he felt as if he were driving through a movie
setting.

  In fact, during Bush=92s visit, filming for a segment in the film "In t=
he
Line of Fire," starring Clint Eastwood, took place on the roof of the
Historic Holly Hotel.

  Rogers stressed the importance of downtown preservation anywhere, as a
symbol of community pride and heritage.

------------------------------