Dad and the Depot Mouse
(Contributed by By Sharon L. Turo )
During much of my growing-up years in Sandy Creek, my father, Paul Turo, worked “second trick” at the Lacona depot. My brother, George, and I loved to go there whenever we could. We were fascinated by the old telephone, the telegraph key and the Y shaped pole that was strung with twine and cleverly tied to hold a message to be “handed off” to the crew of a train as it passed the station.
There were old pot bellied stoves that heated the place and benches that ran around the outside of the waiting room, just meant for children to run on! There were train crews who were sometimes friendly and sometimes not. The nicest ones invited us, with Dad’s permission, to ride in the cab of the steam engine or diesel while they did the switching at Blount’s or Sancona.
The office itself was crammed with roll top desks covered with form pads, waybills and rubber stamps in metal racks. The tops of the desks held dusty volumes of manuals, tariffs, regulations and what ever else was needed to keep people and freight moving.
In those days Dad carried a lunch pail and thermos to work everyday filled with whatever my mother or grandmother had packed for his evening meal. One night as he sat at one of the roll top desks eating his supper, a small movement just above him caught his attention. Looking up, he found a small gray field mouse peeking out from between the books. Nose twitching, he sat intently watching Dad and his supper.
I have no idea today what Dad actually said to his new friend, but I suspect it was something like “Well, hello there little fellow! Are you hungry too?” I do know that when Dad offered the mouse a bit of food, he sat where he was and ate every bit of what was offered.
Over the next few weeks, the mouse returned nightly to share whatever Dad had to offer. Knowing a good thing when he found it, the mouse began to join the station agent, Jim Kundell, for his mid-day meal too. The two men chuckled over the mouse, brought him special treats and enjoyed the diversion their little buddy brought to him each day.
Unfortunately this mouse tale had an unhappy ending. One of the relief men was not amused by the presence of a mouse during his meal break and took it upon himself to dispose of the little pest. Saying nothing to anyone, the man brought his pellet gun the next day and brought the tale of the Depot Mouse to an end.
