Volunteers keep work on old train depot on track

Members of the Sons of the American Legion lend time and skill to the refurbishment.

By BETH N. GRAY
Published June 19, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - While some people may enjoy their retirement years by socializing and lounging about, the Sons of the American Legion stay busy.

More than a half-dozen members of the group have spent the past 14 months of daylong Fridays and Saturdays restoring the 121-year-old Brooksville Train Depot on Russell Street. The frame building houses the Heritage Museum's Old Florida artifacts and genealogy documents.

Ralph Baxter, vice commander of the group, said he read about the refurbishing need. "And I turned around and said, 'Hey, guys. We can do it, ' and they said, 'Let's do it.' "

Commander Karl Hogan "took to it 100 percent."

Baxter lined up a remodeling expert and an electrician, and recruited volunteers with experience in the construction trades. They ranged in age from the 50s to the 70s. Baxter himself is 58.

The volunteers enclosed the rough depot walls with cedar. They strengthened the roof with new trusses and beams and redid the ceiling. They upgraded electrical wiring and installed new lighting. "It was fantastic, " Baxter said of the work.

Built in 1885 from locally milled pine, cedar and cypress, the depot, which served as Brooksville's main passenger and freight terminal until the late 1940s, withstood decades of neglect before CSX Railroad decided to donate it to the Hernando Historical Museum in 1986.

However, with no money to initiate repairs, the structure sat empty until 2002, when the association decided to move its genealogy and information center from the overcrowded May Stringer Museum.

In 2003, the association was awarded an $11, 000 grant to begin restoration from the state Bureau of Historic Preservation, the Florida Historical Commission and the Hernando Historical Commission. About half the money was used to pay for a new roof and to install central air conditioning.

To stretch the remainder of the money, the association opted to buy the rest of the necessary materials and to use volunteer labor to complete the work.

Volunteers beyond the Sons have bent their backs to the effort. Alan Thomas remodeled the bathroom and the deteriorating dock. Howard Moore built a wheelchair ramp for access. Dan Dust and Bob Smith constructed a model railroad display that includes many historic Brooksville buildings.

What price tag would the museum's executive director, Virginia Jackson, put on their labors? "Oh, I don't think I could, " she said. "They were here a good number of hours. We appreciated them so much."

"We're not done yet, " Baxter promised.

To express thanks, the Hernando County Historical Society will honor the volunteers and their families with a dinner from 4 to 6 p.m. July 1.

It will include a dedication ceremony for the depot.

The ceremony is expected to include County Commissioner Diane Rowden, Sheriff Richard Nugent, the Hernando County Broadcasting channel, a color guard from American Legion Post 186, a showing by Brooksville American Legion 99 and a canine demonstration. U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite has been invited.

Said Baxter, "It's going to be one good hoo-doo."

If you go

Depot museum

Hours: The depot museum is open to the public noon to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays.

For more information:

Call the museum at (352) 799-0129

First look

What: Dedication of refurbished historic Brooksville Train Station

Where: Russell Street, off W Main Street or Brooksville Avenue

When: 4:30 p.m. July 1

Who: Sons of the American Legion, local dignitaries and the public

[Last modified June 18, 2007, 23:16:47]