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Growing up in an already aging Victorian home, the basement was the warmest place in the house during the winter months and often the coolest in the heat of summer. The low ceiling and thick walls kept the heat from the blazing fireplace in check in December while the tiled floor and large windows allowed bare feet a cooling sensation in July.
Our dad often retreated to the basement to escape his growing family and the hustle and bustle of pre-holiday activities. There was a dartboard that saw some action and a Ping Pong table that pitted brother against brother.
Dad took up painting at some point in the basement and produced a variety of interesting street scenes I believe he recalled from his time spent abroad with the U.S. Army during World War II.
There was no better time to spend in the basement than the weeks leading up to Christmas. Ping Pong was put on hiatus as the table was transformed into a platform where Dad's passion for model trains came alive. He spent hours making landscapes for his train to circle and ride over and under. A handmade train tunnel was his most prized creation. Added to that were the fake snow and bottle brush-style trees that resembled a forest.
Of course we would be allowed to watch but not touch. The train whistle and the magic of smoke coming from the engine's stack were a hit with the littlest among us. The real smiles were on our Dad's face as he recalled childhood memories of his own youth growing up in Center Wheeling's German neighborhood.
And he was of the generation that was accustomed to riding trains to and from that gorgeous B&O station in Wheeling to places near and far.
Sadly Wheeling lost its train tracks to more viable forms of transportation.
However, the fact that the train station building was restored and now used for West Virginia Northern Community College is a tremendous feat in itself.
If those walls could talk, there would be the voices of our ancestors echoing in the cavernous halls where lives intersected.
Some of us continue to admire and enjoy railroading in some form. Whether it is model trains for our own kids and grandchildren, or taking trips on the trains that still puff across the country, we owe our fascination and love of the locomotive to our Dad and all the Dads who shared their time around a sheet of decorated plywood.
Merry Christmas and let the whistles blow!
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.