A museum gives us an opportunity to look back at what people did many years ago. The ingenuity, the hard work, the play and yes-even wars.

On the evening of September 26, 2009 the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum opened its gates to an intrepid group of photographers to participate in an event never before conducted here. The event, "Museum Nights" was conceived by the Events Committee of the Museum as a way to bring people to the grounds and exploit the collection in an escorted night photography session. What made this event unique was the addition of period costumed volunteers portraying passengers, train crew, station agents and Railway Post Office clerks right down to the hobos in the jungle and USO volunteers serving the military men on hand.

About a dozen photographers attended and paid an entry fee which provided them with over 35

scenes throughout the museum grounds which were lit by floodlights and even a sampling of hobo-stew and USO supplied sandwiches. Bill Johnson, a professional photographer from Johnson Photography was on hand to offer advice on camera settings and to oversee the lighting conditions to ensure quality photos. Attendees were from as far as Owosso Michigan and Akron Ohio and all commented on the unique experience that Mad River offered.

The event began at 6:30 PM and finally broke up at 11:30PM. The attendees often made requests for poses or lighting that was accommodated by the volunteers and crew setting lights and equipment. There were many hundreds of photos taken by the group and a sampling may be viewed on the website www.madrivermuseum.org under the events tab. A special thank you to all the volunteer actors, lighting crew, Firelands Military actors and Bill Johnson who volunteered his time to ensure quality photo conditions. Every one of the attendees expressed a desire to attend the next event and the Committee has some surprises in store for that one.

Story by Dennis Brandal
Pictures by John Fryar