This tiny card. How can I explain the meaning behind it? I always tell my students to make art to remember. I hold this one close to me but will tell you of it nonetheless. It’s the Great Northern Railway mascot, the Rocky Mountain Goat. My dad worked for this Railroad for 43 years and we were a railroad family, moving to whatever state he was promoted to next. As we moved, my brothers would come of age and not move with us.
I grew up on trains. Checking them on Saturdays with Dad, clambering all over them to check for needed repairs and make sure everything was ship shape, riding them across those Rocky Mountains more times than I could count, even driving one. Finally he was transferred to Minnesota and at age 18 I prepared to stay in Illinois. Last minute I decided it was time to blow that town and I moved with them.
I started working for the railroad and met my husband there and we continued the railroad travel. Before my dad retired, he was in charge of materials at the headquarters, and was responsible for the safekeeping of the original Rocky Mountain Goat, enshrined in its plexiglas display case. One little logo. A lifetime of precious memories.
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