History came alive Saturday morning in Longview.
A group of residents from Wills Point in Van Zandt County came to the Longview Amtrak station to begin their re-enactment of a historic train ride and speech made by President William Howard Taft on Oct. 31, 1909. The group rode the train to Wills Point, at which point "President Taft" delivered the same speech he'd made at the same location a century earlier.
|
Michael Cavazos/News-Journal Photo | President William Howard Taft, played by Kelly Ferris, gives a speech Saturday at the Longview Amtrak station during a re-enactment of Taft's trip to Wills Point 100 years ago.
|
|
|
|
Kelly Ferris, the actor who portrayed Taft, was dressed in a period costume, as was the man playing his assistant and several other people. Most of the participants, however, were wearing modern clothing.
"This is something fun to do that allows us to remember our history," Ferris said. "A lot of people worked hard to put it together."
Ferris, in his persona of Taft, praised the beauty of East Texas while at the Longview station.
"I know a lot of people think of Texas as dry, flat and barren," he said. "When they do, I'm always quick to point out the beauty of the lush forests and rolling hills of East Texas."
Van Zandt County Sheriff Pat Burnett was dressed in a vest and cowboy boots, and wore an old-fashioned star. He comes from a long line of law enforcement officers and said he thinks a cousin of his grandfather might have been the county's sheriff during Taft's visit.
"The Secret Service wasn't as big then as it is now, so it was common for local law enforcement officers to help with presidential security," Burnett said. "However, my predecessor would have more likely met the train at Wills Point, rather than have boarded it in Longview."
Kim and Greg Kilgore of Wills Point brought their daughters \— Katy, 7, and Kendall, 2 \— to the train ride. The family woke up early Saturday morning to board the school buses that brought 148 residents of Van Zandt County to Longview so they could ride the train back to their hometown.
"Kendall really loves choo-choo trains, so we thought this would be a cool thing to do," Katy said.
Virgil Melton Jr., a Van Zandt county commissioner, said the purpose of the train ride was twofold.
"The main reason we're doing it is to show that we're proud of our history," Melton said. "However, we're also hoping to increase the transportation options in our county by encouraging Amtrak to make regular stops there."
The train made a special stop at the historic Wills Point station, which is no longer used on a regular basis, he said. There were two special cars at the end of the train, decorated with a presidential seal, for the residents to ride on.
While most of the people at the station were from Wills Point, Longview resident Jo Ann Johnson also showed up to see the event. She has a special connection to the Taft train ride through Texas.
"My grandfather, John Richard Kennedy, was a train engineer during the early 1900s," Johnson said. "I think he was most likely driving the train that Taft traveled on."
