Letter to The Editor about Railroad Days July 15, 2021 Article

July 24, 2021

To The Editor of “The Burg” Newspaper of Galesburg, IL.

After reading the Thursday, July 15, 2021 issue of The Burg, I was amazed at the article about Galesburg RailRoad Days on page 5. In the content of the article it was stated that at the June 21, 2021 City Council Meeting, “Mayor Schwartzman had proclaimed that June 26, 2021 is Dennis Clark Day.” In my opinion, that was a slap in the face to ALL of the People/Volunteers that have been involved in the RailRoad Days events since 1979.

The Burlington Northern RailRoad, back in 1977, initiated what was called an “Open House” for the City of Galesburg. This event included “flat car tour trains,” that let the people climb aboard an open air flat car with benches and a fence enclosure and take a guided tour of the old, double hump, railroad yard. This same event came back in 1978, and the public participation doubled.

In the year 1979, the City declared the event to be named “Galesburg RailRoad Days.” I can not speak for everyone, but, the employees at that time who helped with the event on Railroad property, were all Volunteer help. I was one of the many that put in my time to help with the event.

Again, in my opinion, for the Mayor to single out “ONE” individual, and proclaim a Day be named for them, is not very considerate of the Hundreds of people that have, at one time or another, put forth their time and effort for this annual event for the last 40 plus years.

The Mayor of the City of Galesburg should reconsider this decision.

Thank You for Your Time.

Steven A. Godsil

Galesburg Illinois

40+ Year RailRoad Employee