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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 29, 2006 Passing train brings memories By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune As the train rumbled past her Gold Hill home, Carol White Maurer broke into a grin. She couldn’t help herself. "Every train that goes by, it still gets to me," explains the peppy 60-year-old Gold Hill native. "Ever since I was a little girl, trains have fascinated me. "That whistle, it’s not mournful," she continues. "It’s not lonely. The sound lingers so beautifully ... good memories." Advertisement The memories shaken loose by the freight train rattling past her home now are of a bygone era when she was a tiny girl on her family’s farm, waving at the passing passenger train. In the early 1950s, the train from Portland clanking its way along the Rogue River to Ashland was from another world, she explains. "It was a happy train — people on the train always waved," says Maurer, who describes herself as a retired farmer. There was the cheerful Southern Pacific employee who waved and often tossed out a package wrapped in newspaper. That was W.L. Ribillard of Portland who signed "Uncle Bill" to the notes thrown from the train in 1951 and 1952. She still has the cherished messages. "This is the last of the funnies my grandson had but they will keep you busy for awhile," he wrote of newspaper comics. Sometimes the bundle would include candy. "Here’s something sweet for a sweet little girl," he penned in one note. Christmas never passed by without a note from Uncle Bill. "Be sure and watch for train Xmas morning as Santa may have some candy for you," he wrote. Later there would be letters sent with 3-cent stamps. "Thanks so much for your picture ... Aunt Maude (wife) has often wondered what you look like," he penned. "I always tell my wife about how faithful you are to be out to wave at all of us." He invited Maurer, her older brother Kenny and her parents, Edsel and June White, to visit them in Portland. "Write and tell me all about your school and how Smokey is getting along," he wrote in one letter. Smokey? "He was my big old hairy dog — I sure liked him," Maurer interjects. "He was my best friend." Remember, this was when farming was a common way of life in rural Oregon, says the direct descendant of pioneer Lytte White. He was the fellow who built the nearby Rock Point stage station in 1864. There was no Interstate 5, no television to watch at home, no Internet to compute, Maurer says. A 1963 graduate of Crater High School, she lives on a portion of the historic family farm. She left the farm for the bright lights of San Francisco after high school and traveled a bit, including by train in Sweden. But she returned to the family farm 30 years ago. "I remember we had an old Guernsey milk cow we called Jersey," she says. "But I had my own cow named Sugar Plum. I’d ride it. It was my friend." Sugar Plum is buried under what is now the Valley of the Rogue State Park, she says. "I see where Sugar Plum is buried every time I pull off the freeway from Grants Pass," she says, noting the sight still pulls at her heart strings. But nothing like the memories of Uncle Bill and the passenger trains. Consider the letter he sent about making candy for his lodge’s annual gathering. "Of course, I had to save some for you," he wrote. "Hope they don’t get all broken up when I throw them off. Now be a good girl, study hard and help mother with her work." One Christmas found the train grinding to a stop by her house located some 50 feet from the tracks. Uncle Bill hopped down to hand her a present. "I couldn’t open it until Christmas," she says. "When I did, inside was this doll with a pink dress. I didn’t play with dolls. So I pushed it under my bed where it stayed." It was the thought that counted, she says. The last day the passenger train went through — 1955, when she was 10 — the crew stopped and picked her up, taking her to Ashland where a picnic was held. She rode in the engine, blowing the whistle en route. "It was such a big deal for me," she says. "I’d never been on a train before. I know I annoyed a lot of people with that whistle that day." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at Passing train brings memories ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement