The Holiday Train, operated by Canadian Pacific Railway, or CP Railway, for brevity, rolled through both Tomah and Sparta, in the early evening hours of December 10th. The Tomah scene had Superior Avenue blocked off, with folks fanned out deep into the damp streets. In Sparta the parking was scarce, causing many to indulge in a bit of trekking, in order to enjoy the lighted-musical show on rails. In both cities, police diligently scoured the tracks, ensuring that safety would prevail at the festive gatherings.
In Tomah, a while before the train arrived, Danielle Anderson was set up, selling hot coco, cookies and other items, such as Christmas tree-light necklaces, to the passersby. Danielle was volunteering as a member of the First United Methodist Church, located at 1105 Butts Avenue, in Tomah. “We work together, with the Food Pantry, selling the hot coco and all the goodies we have here,” Anderson explained. “We take donations and give it all to the Food Pantry. It is all community based help that we are working with.”
Just steps away from the hot coco contingent, was another cheerful association with the season, Santa Claus. While some children were bashful, others flocked to the red-suited celebrity. The Rowe family had arrived early and were part of the initial wave of smiles, giggles and photo opportunists.
Azalea, the youngest of the four-female siblings, was flown over to Santa via the Daddy Express; laughing all the way. Fully surrounded by holiday enthusiasts, Santa served as a central backdrop, sporting a scarlet suit and fluffy-white beard; with skinny spectacles providing a window through the forest of snowy-white cotton. The young Rowe girls: Alisa, Tabittha, Meleeh and Azalea, stood for the photos, while their father snapped some photos. After the photoshoot, the Rowes rejoined as a family force and proceeded to mingle with the anticipatory onlookers.
The Tomah Police scooted back and forth along the track, asking anyone who had edged to close to the rail, to step back behind the soft barricades of yellow tape and imagination. Arguably, one of the best videos of the Holiday Train can be found on the Tomah Police Facebook page. Anyone attempting a live shot was disheartened by the futile efforts of their phone gadgets to maintain any sort of reception lasting longer than 10 seconds.
As attendees gathered and gawked eastward into the darkness, a halo of light shattered the darkness, actually looking like the sun was rising off schedule. As the interpretation of the illumination was pinpointed as the Holiday Train, the whistle echoed through the still, casting all doubts aside; anticipation and slight frustration were exchanged for jubilation.
Brightly decorated railcars lit up the night, as holiday music set the ambience of the moment. Cheers came in droves, as many children were hoisted onto the shoulders of their parents and grandparents, to pass their youthful judgement on what kind of memory this will be for them. Even the screeching of the train coming to a halt was earmarked as a sound of happiness, and not the normal shoulder-shrugging wince, often falling into the same category as nails-on-a-chalkboard.
Selected railcars had their sides opened, making sure that all who had made the journey enjoyed the brief show, before the train continued on down the line. Andy Cummings, Manger of Media Relations for CP Railway, stepped out and had some words, for all who had come to the event. “I want to tell you a little bit about this train,” Cummings started out. “We have been taking it coast-to-coast since 1999. Since that time we have raised more than 21 million dollars and 5 million pounds of food, for community food banks, all across North America. We are able to do that because of your generous donations and I want to thank each and every one of you. Everything you donate stays in your community, to help your neighbors in need.”
After Andy announced these statistics, bands started playing some of their original songs, as well as classic Christmas holiday favorites, like “Jingle Bells,” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Some of the crowd slowly started dispersing back to their vehicles, having packed in enough of the festive cheer for the evening, while a larger portion of the Christmas crowd contingency stood fast, continuing to mingle and foster further holiday cheer. After all, it had been two years of an ominous world outlook, which held hostage the Holiday Train and the joy associated with it, so who could possibly deny love and happiness their rightful and crucial presence in the community.
Meanwhile, in Sparta, a large crowd was in the midst of mist, as they made their way to the Holiday Train. Parking was a hot commodity, as cars jammed into nooks and crannies, along streets like Hemstock and Erickson Drive. Averill Street nested quite a few automobiles as well, requiring patience and understanding from all who traversed the now-narrow driving space. There was even a vehicle trail, resembling a tail, that stretched up toward the Family Restaurant. Families could be seen crossing Wisconsin Street, by Ben Biking, and footing the hill, toward the festive happening.
The actual event was not too dissimilar from the Tomah stop, with Andy Cummings relaying the same statistics about the kind community efforts, coupled with the descriptive remarks about the Holiday Train and its history. For the Sparta-stop attendees, a bit more was valued in the aesthetics of the holiday snow-globe scene. The Holiday Train could be seen in its entirety, as it stretched across the open-range landscape, in central Sparta. Mist swirled around the cheerful crowds, while fog rolled through, in small groupings, providing a mysterious flavor to the night. With less ambient lighting, the decorated railcars burst out of the darkness, like a strong solo singer in a Christmas Madrigal.
While there has always seemed to be bickering differences between Tomah and Sparta, those varying degrees of perspective pale in comparison to what we all have in common: strong sense of family and community, charitable to the point of fiction, and an understanding that we need to heal and build from the past two years – for the sake of sanity and our survival.
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