Julie Ann Grimm
News
Cover, June 9: “Under Steam”
Got A Brand New Bag
I thoroughly enjoyed your piece. It was beautifully done. A delight to read. And, oh, the memories it brought back to this old guy!
My grandmother’s home...would have been in the center of today’s Main Street...I think it was the summer of 1944 when I, then 10 years old, was down in the pasture and I heard the train coming down the track from Cumbres. I ran over and stood several feet to the side of the tracks, waving to the engineer. The train began to slow down. Then it stopped! And the engineer looked down at me. “Can I give you a ride, young man?” he asked. He pointed at the steps beside the engine and before you know it, there I was up in the cab! He took my hand and placed it on the throttle, slowly advancing it, and I felt the giant locomotive begin to move.
Five hundred yards down the tracks was the Chama station...After a minute or two the engineer eased back on the throttle with my small hand still gripping it, then he reached for the brake handle and slowly brought the giant machine to a stop. Then he looked down, patted me on the back, and said, “Good job, son.” I’ll never forget the look on that kind man’s face. I ran the quarter-mile back to my grandmother’s house and dashed through the front door. “Grandma, I just drove the train!”
Tom Claffey, Santa Fe
Online, May 27: “Spirited Away”
Real Concerns
In Alex De Vore’s article, there was a state assumption that the neighborhood opposition to Susan’s Liquors & Fine Wines moving to Agua Fria Street was a suspected NIMBY reaction. The preponderance of the 60 residents who attended the May 24 community meeting stated that they liked Susan’s and want to see them survive but not at the expense of Romero Street residents’ health and safety. The additional projected traffic of at least 80 to 90 (if not more) for six days a week is a direct threat to the overall safety of the neighborhood. Romero Street...was never designed to take on the amount of commercial and residential traffic that it currently has, let alone the additional customers and delivery vehicles produced by Susan’s.
Vonnell Bettencourt, Santa Fe
