HUMBOLDT — Casey Jones, the renowned train engineer of the 19th century, would be right at home in Humboldt a few weeks hence. THE TRAIN rides are just one of many events that will occur during the six-week visit of the Smithsonian’s Hometown Teams exhibit in Humboldt’s City Hall. The display will contain much information, graphic and written, about sports, including Johnson, who was born a few miles north of Humboldt, as well as George Sweatt, a multi-sport star born in Humboldt. Sweatt played in the Negro Leagues, including a world series, and also was a standout athlete at what today is Pittsburg State University.
On Oct. 10 a prominent sideshow of a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit will be roundtrip train rides between Humboldt and Chanute.
The Walter Johnson “Big Train” Special will be part of the Hometown Teams event. Johnson often was referred to as the “Big Train” during his extraordinary pitching career with the Washington Senators, 1907-1927, when he won 417 games.
The event is organized by the Humboldt Historic Preservation Alliance
Lynn Lytle, an HHPA member, gave a rundown:
Three rides will be offered by the Burlington North Santa Fe and South Kansas Oklahoma Lines railway companies.
Participants board the train in Humboldt at the east end of Bridge Street where the depot once was. The first ride departs at 9 a.m.; the second at noon and the third at 3 p.m.
Meals will be provided in a large tent beside the tracks. Breakfast and lunch will be served before the rides, at 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively. Dinner will be served after the 3 o’clock ride, at 4:30 p.m.
Entrees for lunch and dinner include prime rib for $20 or fried chicken for $15. C&S Traveling Kitchens, Chanute, will prepare the beef, while Opie’s Restaurant, Chanute, the chicken.
Tickets may be purchased by mail until Sept. 28 from Joyce Hudson, 204 S. Seventh St., Humboldt 66748, or by calling 620-473-3672. Each of the three passenger cars will seat 80 people.
Singer Brenda Clark will provide entertainment.
A local committee, with Jan Coykendall at the helm, has spent months planning and arranging for the six-week event, which will start on Oct. 3, coincidental with Humboldt’s annual Biblesta. The City Hall exhibit will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
A number of events are scheduled to feature athletics of all sorts, including calf roping to horseshoe pitching to golf to vintage baseball games. On Oct. 24, The Topeka Westerns will play the Lincoln, Neb., Olympics. One game will be played at George Sweatt Field, a second at Walter Johnson Field.
Among noted presenters will be Johnson’s grandson, Henry Thomas, and Phil Dixon, a principal of the Negro Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
A number of area sponsors are funding the extravaganza, including the Kansas Humanities Council.
Rides to recall ‘Big Train’
