Trolley Museum in Motion
Someone asked me recently, "Why give time to a trolley museum?" In a flash, I was flooded with the horrid thought that without museums, our history would be lost and our existence would be so much less meaningful and very vanilla. What do I mean by that? Well, start with appreciation first. Think about the telephone. Without the knowledge of how telephone technology began , how can we truly appreciate the use of cell phones! Children today have no idea what it was like to be without a cell phone for more than 5 minutes. Some think that they have been around forever too! Sharing the telephone history enriches one's knowledge while giving recognition to the past with each alert, tone, and ring of today's cell phone. Next, how about awe? I can't say the word "awe" without thinking flight. Today, we hop on planes as a common form of transportation, and we travel, in hours, distances that our ancestors didn't even know existed. Travel to the moon and beyond? No way! Good thing we have museums to document what it took to get there, and to open the wellspring of awe for us. So this brings me to the Trolley Museum. East Haven, CT is extremely lucky to have this gem in their own backyard. Don't take it for granted, history is fragile, so support and visit often! They have a fleet of over 100 vintage trolley cars to propel us back to the early 1900s. So on this rainy day, turned sunny, Michelle and I were joined by our newest Give Back Girl, Johanna, to help with Museum in Motion! An event that included a parade of 18 interesting vintage trolleys.
After grabbing some coffee and a donut in the trolley yard, we headed to the trolley station for our tasks. Joanne set up a table out front to greet guests and direct them into the ticket station. Once ticketed, she gave them a brochure for the day's events. Her smile and upbeat character was appreciated by everyone she greeted. Honestly, we were shocked at the number of guests that participated in this event. We even had a vintage city bus that pulled up with a full load of passengers from New York. It was so fun to greet them on the bus and get caught up in their excitement.
Once inside the ticket station, the guests paid for their tickets or showed their membership card to the cashier. Then, they were greeted by Give Back Girl, Michelle, to get a yellow wrist band. Michelle kept up with the cashier and did not miss a wrist! OMG the kids were soooooo adorable with their infectious excitement. The look on their little faces as the trolley pulled up was magical. I can't wait to take my nephew to this museum!
Two trolleys went back and forth between the station and the yard every 10 minutes to bring guests to the yard for two scheduled parades. Give Back Girl, Arlene (That's me!), verified that guests had yellow bands as they boarded, and helped those that required a little "push" to get safely on the trolley. I got pretty comfortable with the job while announcing,"All aboard!"
I hope you have enjoyed our stay at the Trolley Museum and that you visit there soon. The GiveBackGirls are headed to a motorcycle ride to benefit CT Cancer Foundation. If you would like to ride or donate, see below. Until next time.....
