(rshsdepot) Santa Susana, CA

[Jim Dent <jdent1_@_optonline.net>]

From the Ventura County Star...

Depot kicks off year of celebration
Station receives historical status

By S.L. Salamone, Correspondent
March 18, 2003

Metrolink train conductors were greeted by a strange sight Friday night as
they headed westward, their cars loaded with homebound commuters.

Normally dark during the weeknights, the historic Santa Susana Railroad
Depot, adjacent to the tracks on Katherine Road in Simi Valley, was lit up
and draped with centennial flags. About 80 people milled about the rooms and
rail platform, food and drink in hand, while a live band played patriotic
music.

The event was the start of the Santa Susanna Railroad Depot's centennial
celebration. The invitation-only event was attended by city, state and
government officials. It is the forerunner to a series of yearlong public
events not yet scheduled but set to start this summer, in honor of the
depot, which was built in 1903.

The event was a joint project of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park
District, which owns the land and the depot, and the Rancho Simi Foundation,
a nonprofit organization created to oversee the building management. A
birthday cake and hors' d'oeuvres were served, and local poet Robert Haseley
gave a reading.

Storm clouds were gathering quickly in the distance as the ceremony got
under way, and an icy wind kept the many speeches and presentations short.
Despite the cold, the evening was festive and full of congratulations.

Numerous times during the ceremony and the party that followed, commuter
trains rushed by, and the conductors, without fail, waved and blew the train
whistles.

The highlight of the ceremony was the unveiling of a long-awaited bronze
plaque anchored to a low wall at the front of the depot, proclaiming its
status as a historical monument.

"This depot changed the face of history for the people in this valley," said
Tom Burgh, Rancho Simi Foundation member. "It put Simi Valley on the map and
gave farmers in this area a real shot in the arm."

With the unveiling, it was Burgh, dressed in period costume, who called "All
aboard!" and signaled the beginning of the celebration.

"The depot will always be special," said Caryl Barefoot, president of the
Simi Valley Historical Society. "Our kids don't know now what it was like
before computers. We have to keep history alive. How else can we tell how
far we've come if we don't keep looking back?"

Though public events planned for this summer have not yet been finalized,
Burgh said a pancake breakfast as well as a car and antique show are in the
works.

"We want to wait until the kids are out of school and the weather has gotten
better so that everyone can enjoy what we have here," Burgh said.


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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