(rshsdepot) Hemet, CA

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From The Sun.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Old train depot transformed into Hemet museum

Trevor Summons, Correspondent

Article Launched: 03/08/2008 08:13:59 PM PST
 

Normally you expect the moving part of trains to be the rolling stock  and 
not the station. But in Hemet, it's the other way around. 

"This is the old freight office," said Bob Frazier, a docent with the  Hemet 
Depot Museum. "It used to be on the other side of the street, but it was  
moved over here." 
 
The trains stopped rolling, too, quite a few years ago. 
 
"The last train came from San Bernardino to pick up a load of potatoes,"  
Frazier continued. "And the last passenger train came through in 1972." 
 
Unfortunately, it became unattractive financially and the mournful wail of  
the whistles stopped forever. 
 
Today, the old freight office is joined onto the original depot, which is  
now a coffee shop, making a long, interesting building in the heart of Hemet. 
 
The area has seen more than its fair share of changes apart from its  
railroad days. It was once the domain of roaming herds of prehistoric creatures  and 
many thousands of years later Native Americans made it their home.  
Intricately woven baskets are on display to show some aspects of the Native  Americans' 
lives here. 
 
"One of the smaller baskets was made by Ramona Lubo," said Frazier. "She  was 
married to Juan Diego and they were quite a well-known family in the area." 
 
The small, packed museum is spick-and-span and has a lot on show. The  
building itself is considered to be one of Hemet's oldest wooden structures and  is 
cared for by a team of docents like Frazier. 

He has lived in the area since 1958, and admits to being particularly  fond 
of the railway aspects of the place. 

Agriculture, too, was a serious part of Hemet's past being part of the  
citrus-producing industry. Sadly, most of the farms have been covered over by  
houses to cope with Southern California's burgeoning population. 
 
Roses, too, were an important crop for Hemet. "There was a famous rose  
grower here," Frazier continued. "They produced a rose called Granada and  outside 
the town hall in Granada, Spain, they have a huge garden of them." A  poster 
shows the vibrant red and pink colors of the flower. 
 
But whether it's trains, people, fruit or flowers, the one common thread  
that runs through this community is water. And in 1895, the Great Hemet Dam was  
completed, making progress in the area possible. It was during the 
construction  of the dam that builders started uncovering the remains of the huge 
creatures  that had lived there so many thousands of years before. 
 
As you wander around the showcases, you will pass by an old telephone  
switchboard. "There used to be banks of these when I came out from the Midwest  in 
the mid-50s," Frazier said. "If you wanted to make a call, it would go  through 
here and one of the phone operators." 
 
You can't help but think of the convenience of the cell phone on your belt  
and its ease of use compared to this big lump of solid technology. But somehow, 
 the callers of the day seemed to manage OK. 
 
The wall of artisan's implements and tools is also a long way from the  
convenience of one of the big box stores that cater to today's homebuilding and  
gardening needs. And not one of the drills, saws or sanders has a cord hanging  
from it or even space for a battery. 
 
A little time spent here will take you back in time and allow you to  
understand how life was lived in this interesting region before and after the  trains 
came through. 
 

- --
Hemet  Depot Museum 
Where: Florida Avenue and State Street, Hemet 
 
Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday 
 
Cost: Free, but donations welcome 
 
Information: (951) 929-4409, hemetmuseum.org




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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1692
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org