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(rshsdepot) Durand, MI
From The Flint Journal.
Bernie Wagenblast
Transportation Communications Newsletter
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
All tracks led rail enthusiast to depot director job
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
By Linda Angelo
langelo_@_flintjournal.com • 810.766.6340
DURAND - John Tkaczyk remembers going to the Durand Union Station as a
youngster and watching the trains travel down the tracks.
By the time he was a teenager, Tkaczyk was helping load and unload
passengers' bags, assisting with pedestrian traffic during Railroad Days and lending a
hand for many menial tasks.
Now the 27-year-old has an official position at the historic depot: director.
He oversees fundraising, museum activities and daily operations at the train
station.
"Rail travel is such a huge part of our history, and people don't realize it
because we don't live that way anymore," Tkaczyk said.
"I want to have a historic appearance but modern interaction with it. ... A
lot of our stories are in display cases and targeted at the older crowd, but
we need to attract youth here. With all the video games, they do not have the
attention span for reading that much."
During the early 1900s when the railroad industry was at its peak, 42
passenger trains, 22 mail trains and 78 freight trains passed through Durand daily.
The depot handled approximately 3,000 passengers a day.
Tkaczyk - a Chesaning native who plans to move from Swartz Creek to Durand
shortly - said he would like more hands-on exhibits at the museum to relay the
depot's rich history.
His enthusiasm and love of the railroads impressed Dan Brooks, president of
the depot's Board of Directors.
Former Director Jan Harper, who worked with Tkaczyk when he volunteered as a
high school student at the depot, also recommended him for the job.
"He's a rail fan who identifies with folks who come to see the trains and
enjoy seeing the trains, but his education also gives him a good background with
this leadership role," she said.
Tkaczyk has a bachelor's degree in industrial technology and a teaching
certificate from Northern Michigan University.
Before arriving at the depot in mid-May, Tkaczyk worked as a substitute
teacher in the Chesaning School District.
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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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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1394
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org