How sad I feel today. It’s weird, I feel sad over a building. It’s not just any building though; it’s the Historical Train Depot in Pulaski. It is listed on the National Historical Registry and also housed the Raymond F. Ratcliffe Memorial Museum.
The building caught fire last night and was destroyed. All of those irreplaceable historical artifacts are gone. It was also home of the Pulaski Farmer’s Market, a place I loved to go on Saturday mornings. CWI just finished creating a brochure for downtown Pulaski that featured the depot; it really was a beautiful building and is a devastating loss to the community. I felt compelled to go down there today and take some pictures, so off Nic and I went in the drizzling cold.
While we were there, Holy Pietrzak from WDBJ7 came up to me and started asking questions, then asked if I would mind being interviewed. After a very hesitant “sure,” the camera started rolling.
I tried to stay positive even though this is a devastating loss. She mentioned how much Pulaski has struggled recently with the loss of business and industry in these tough economic times. I didn’t want to focus on that. I told her that we are a resilient community and that whatever hurdles are placed in front of us, we will be able to overcome, we always have.
I thought it was important to acknowledge that while this is a huge loss, not just to our community but, as I mentioned earlier, to history as many irreplaceable artifacts are gone, but also show that Pulaski is a strong community with a lot to offer. I hope it comes across that way. I couldn’t believe how sad I was to see the depot in this state, but we can wallow in self-pity or use this experience to come out better.
I didn’t want a “Pulaski pity-party.” I want people to know that we have suffered big losses before and made it and we will do it again.
We here at CWI Media & Marketing realize how important it is to support our local community. In doing so, we have donated some of our services to Pulaski Fest, a community event in historic downtown Pulaski. CWI will be designing the official Web site, PulaskiFest.com, and designing the schedule of event fliers. The site should be operational by Aug. 15, 2007.
Pulaski Fest will be held on Sept. 8, 2007 and will have many children’s activities, vendors selling foot and crafts, a health clinic, entertainment and the feature event will take place at Calfee Park with the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show. This show is not to be missed!
For more information, or to become a vendor (there is no fee to be a vendor), contact Barbara Tate at 540.994.8627 or check the Web site, www.PulaskiFest.com in mid-August.