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The Stop Osteoporosis Special train will leave the station at Summerville, Georgia at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, 2008 with 300 passengers aboard the Chattooga & Chickamauga Railway, operated by Randall Magnusson, President and CEO. Among those on the passenger list are numerous special guests, including legislators and other elected officials. The trip will be reminiscent of the first such event in 2001, which travelled a similar route, but originated in Chattanooga.
The 2008 SOS Train is the seventh sponsored by the Commission on Women. The theme is Safe Georgia: Prepare, Prevent, Protect! There will be demonstrations of self defense tactics especially for women, led by Dr. Ren Halverson, Jasper Watts and Jessica Jones. Paul Purcell, a private investigator, preparedness expert and author will have copies of his book, Disaster Prep 101, available onsite.
From Summerville, the train will proceed through historic Chickamauga Battlefield, returning to the Chickamauga Depot and Rail Museum where there will be entertainment, exhibits and health screenings. After lunch, the passengers will head back, arriving in Summerville at four o'clock, where activities are scheduled into the evening at Summerville Depot and Dowdy Park.
Free health screenings will be available at Dowdy Park, including bone density, blood pressure and others. There will be educational exhibits and children's art and games. A special feature will be the "Walk for Better Bones' on the walking track around the park. There will be incentives for walkers, including prizes.
Entertainment will be continuous, from the time passengers board in Summerville. Paul Puckett of Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame will entertain on the train, and in both Chickamauga and Summerville. Gary and Beth Duke will be singing songs of the railroad era, including "Life's Railway to Heaven" in memory of Gary's great grandfather, John Henry Horton, an engineer on the Central of Georgia who died after an accident at Gill water tower, near Chickamauga and Summerville. "Life's Railway to Heaven" was sung at his funeral in Cedartown in 1937. Dr. Ren Halverson, of Brunswick, will perform, and Cricket Allen, who has opened for Dolly Parton, has been invited. Local entertainers invited to perform in the evening include a bluegrass band and others to be announced.
A special ceremony marking five years of operation of the historic turntable, which turns the engine around to allow it to go north, will take place upon return to Dowdy Park and the Depot. Nellie Duke, Chair of Georgia Commission on Women, a former resident of Summerville and originator of the SOS Specials, will be afforded the honor of conducting the "turnaround." Local arrangements and logistics for the day are courtesy of the City of Summerville, Grady McCalmon, City Manager and State Representative Barbara Massey Reece, who also chaired the event in 2001.
Reservations are free, but limited in number. For more information, you may e-mail Ms. Duke at duke7095@comcast.net or call the Commission office at 404-657-9260.