With the exception of a few items of wall-art (prints of some of the masters...like Howard Fogg) I'm not really into "Railroadiana" as a collectable. That said, I do have this item...
...which embodies both my favorite railroad as well as a pair of treasured friends...long since deceased...Jerry and Terry Drake of Bay City, Michigan. There might be a few folks who remember Jerry and Terry and their very famous Italian restaurant downtown in that city, O Sole Mio. But Jerry was quite the model railroader, incorporating whimsy and humor into his HO layout, The Bent Spaghetti Lines, (the BS Lines, as he declared with a wink!
) in a large room as part of their living quarters above the restaurant. He was a devoted NMRA member, published in many of that organization's periodicals, as I seem to recall. I have, in fact, two boxcars from NMRA's commemorative series honoring Jerry's BSL; one by Athearn in HO, the other by Weaver in O scale. One of Jerry's most memorable projects was an HO articulated, a 2-4-6-8. He also created a complete 'campus' on his layout for Wasamatta U.
Jerry and Terry were special friends, besides incredibly gracious hosts and chefs. One of the things Jerry liked to do from time to time was invite his railroad buddies to the restaurant on the night the restaurant was closed to the public. He would make his own version of 'Hobo Stew' in a huge pot in the kitchen, complemented with homemade breads, all of which was, as they say, 'To die for!'. Of course, going upstairs to run trains was part of the evening's fun.
The cancelled stock certificate is monetarily worthless. The memories and friendship it represents for me are priceless.
RIP, Terry and Jerry.
KD
