The Daily Journal from Franklin, Indiana • Page 23

TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2001 Railroad Where is Anita? Who was Anita? What was Anita? When the local people talk about Anita, those are the questions that are usually asked. So, I will attempt to answer these. Where was Anita? Anita is ranr located Road 475W -u INDIAN CREEK SCOUT Pg 5 put long-gone Anita on the state map mni 7 Elmer Watkins was moved to 1 Illinois to another depot. i Jessie's sister, Daisey, had just I married Vonda Retro. So, Jessie I stayed with her sister and 1 Callon brother-in-law and they rented a Tjy- house until 1931 hometown In 1936, the Illinois Central nwnmwnn t.

i JoaMoJ In coll thu hmiu an1 decided to sell the house and Here's Mom in her horse-drawn buggy at the Anita train station waiting for the train. depot. C.B. Jacobs bought the house and moved it to Trafalgar. It was placed on County Road 400S just west of State Road 135 and made into a dwelling.

The depot was sold and it was (SEE ANITA, PAGE 10) JCL. -a. Also, the U.S. was on the verge of The Great Depression. So, r.ooD vL T.o VAcATlort BIBLE ScHooL Indianapolis.

Then they would meet the train when they returned. One year, Dr. William had the grand champion 1-year-old male. They returned on Sunday and Leon got to lead the champion. It was so great an occasion that the church let out so the people could see the procession.

By 1923, Anita was so busy that a house was erected for the section manager, Elmer Watkins. It was painted yellow and brown like the depot. Jessie Watkins Hensley was 5 years old when she and her family moved into the house. Jessie remembers learning to count by counting rail cars as they went by. Jessie lived at Anita for seven years.

But by 1930, the scene was changing. Automobiles and trucks were making their position on the American scene June 25-29 9 am -12 Dm on County and south of County Road 300S in Hensley Township. Yes, it is listed on the state map, but there is nothing there today except a marker and a railroad track. What was Anita? It was a railroad station or depot for the Illinois Central Railroad, a house for the station manager and a railroad track with two spurs. The house and depot were painted yellow and brown.

The depot had a waiting room for the passengers, an office where the station manager sent and received messages, took care of business for the railroad, room for the tools and a platform for loading and unloading. Who was Anita? Anita was named for the daughter of the construction foreman who constructed the railroad, station and house in 1906. Her name was Anita Blinn Wenger. Yes, Trafalgar had a train in 1853. But, it ran from Fairland Uliuugii milium aim uu Martinsville.

It did not go to Indianapolis, the state capital. Also, there was farmland all around what was to become Anita and there was a need for shipping livestock, grain and passengers. The track was opened in 1905 irom Indianapolis to Morgantown. Then it was completed on to Bloomington, the coalfields in Indiana and on to Effingham, 111. Indianapolis needed coal from the coalfields in southern Indians.

After Anita was opened, farmers used the train to ship cream, eggs, livestock and grain to Indianapolis. You could find the cream cans lined up, crates of eggs, on the platform ready for the train. Also, during harvest season, a portable ele Ages 3 thru 5th grade FAIR HAVEN CHRISTIAN CHURCH 1470 300 S. Franklin, IN for Ncplf W7Plwi. vator was brought in to load the wheat into the cars.

Then, on the side, you would find coal cars loaded and ready for people in the area to purchase. During World War II, C.B. Jacobs and Leon Clark sent many loads of horses and mules from Anita. They were sent to the East Coast. Some were sent to Europe to help carry supplies to the men fighting in the mountains and some were sent to southern states for farming.

At this time, the U.S. government was encouraging farmers to sell their horses and mules and buy tractors. This was the beginning the mechanical age for the farmers. Also in the station, you would find passengers ready to catch the train for Indianapolis. My mother attended Madam Blaker's Butler University today and she used the train to get back and forth to school.

Some would go to Indianapolis shopping. The train left Anita at 7:25 a.m. and returned at 5:29 p.m. The Trafalgar High School basketball team went to the Indiana state basketball finals in 1917. The game was played in Bloomington, so the boys rode the train to the game.

I always heard that one player even rode on the outside of the train. Dr. William of Trafalgar showed horses at the International Livestock Show in Chicago. Leon Clark would tell about leading the horses from Trafalgar to Anita and then load them on the train for llfHUHUHUHUHUHTTI GMM LrReal Estate Sritserry or. NINEVEH LISTINGS 7795 S.

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