“We’re not a dry museum,” says Executive Director Ted Rita, noting that train trips are available every Saturday and Sunday. “It’s not all learning and it’s not all entertainment. We combine both for quality time with a variety of different experiences.
” During the museum’s annual Civil War Days (June 22-23) join in the Battle of Hesston, a Civil War skirmish between North and South, as soldiers on horseback attempt to raid the train to steal Union gold. “Trains were extremely important during the Civil War and whoever controlled the railroads had a major advantage,” says Rita, adding historical context to an event he calls good family fun. Other special excursions include the Independence Weekend Celebration (July 4-7), the Steam & Power Show (the last weekend in August and the first weekend in September), Hesston Ghost Train (every weekend in October) and Santa’s Candy Cane Express (Noon-4 p.
m. Nov. 30 and Dec.
1, 7 and 8). “There’s more here than just train rides,” says Rita, a former advertising executive who became involved at age 6 when accompanying his father who was active in the museum. The museum is like a village with Doc’s, an old-fashioned soda fountain that was originally in Schlipp’s Pharmacy in Sawyer, Mich.
The drugstore closed in 2012 after almost 50 years. “You can order ice cream sodas as well as a variety of food that’s much better than you typically get at museums,” says Rita. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts.
