By Katie Teachout
The Journal 

Northern Pacific Railway Depot Museum loses Keith

 

Last updated 10/29/2020 at 9:17am

Katie Teachou

L.R. Keith sits at the telegraph station he and fellow telegraph enthusiast Del Klakken restored.

RITZVILLE – Long-time curator and custodian of the Northern Pacific Railway Depot Museum, L.R. Keith, will be resigning from his position after nearly 15 years of volunteer service.

Keith tendered his resignation to the Ritzville Museum Board of Directors Tuesday, Oct. 20. His resignation is effective Nov. 1.

Board President Randy Flyckt said he wished the Board could refuse to accept Keith's resignation, but "involuntary servitude" wasn't quite legal.

"Speaking on behalf of the entire board, the community owes you a great deal of gratitude," Flyckt said. "The Depot today is a reflection of someone who has a deep sense of community dedication. That's rare today. I don't think we are ever going to replace you. What you have done sets the ultimate bench mark of community service."

Board member Susie Kirkendahl said she's received many calls from people over the years about Keith's dedication to the museum. "You've left an impression far and wide on anyone who has seen the depot on your time there," Kirkendahl said.

"This was not a sudden decision on my part, but one which had been coming for almost two years now," Keith said. "This was a personally disastrous year for me, and solidified my decision to take this step."

Keith said while he appreciated any and all help he has received from fellow museum volunteers, for the most part, the care, cleaning and maintenance of the depot museum has been a one-man job.

"In a normal year, the in-depth cleaning inside, outside and on the grounds stress begins in March and finishes up before Memorial Day in May. This is very exhaustive work and almost mandates one to continuously work at it," Keith, said, adding the dedication to the job was done for "friends who visit our city and the museums."

Keith said he was grateful the community accepted him when he moved here in 2004, and gave him the opportunity to serve the community with work he enjoyed doing.

"I am pleased with what has been added and accomplished over the years and extremely grateful for help on some of these special projects," Keith said.

One of the projects taken on was redoing the Terrazo floors in the Depot, with the help of museum board member Mickie Pittman.

"In 2018, Mickie and I stripped, sealed and put a nice finish on the floors in the two waiting rooms and the bathrooms," Keith said of the Depot built in 1909.

"In the early 1900s, Ritzville was a very, very important point, a hub of all the little communities, and it had lots of passengers through here everyday," Keith said. "The old wooden depot was too small. This one was built in 1909 and in December of 1910 it was dedicated."

Keith said a centennial celebration held in December of 2010 called for lots of work to be done on the depot, including a new roof, eaves and lights on the eaves.

Another refurbishing project Keith took on was the inside of the caboose at the depot. The tables were covered in formica donated by ACE Hardware with the help of Ben Goodson, and a Keith said a local man re-upholstered a bench and two chairs for a fraction of the cost quoted elsewhere. Keith refurbished the floor with a gleaming gymnasium finish.

"It's the nicest caboose in the world," Keith said.

Keith worked with John Rankin and David Demikis in restoring an original Railway Express Cart that had been in operation at the depot as early as 1910. When the Railway Express Agency ceased operations, the cart was purchased by Chuck and Claudia McCormick of Ritzville, who donated it back to the depot in 1989. When Keith discovered the cart to be an original, he set to work restoring it to its original condition.

One project he's been working on and hopes to see finished is a train order signal.

"There's a lot of restoration work that needs done, and putting it up is a major project," Keith said.

Perhaps the restoration project at the depot closest to his heart was one he took on before moving to Ritzville. Keith, the last Morse operator for Western Union, along with fellow member of the Spokane Chapter of the Morse Telegraph Council Del Klakken, completely restored the telegraph office of the depot, installing working Morse code equipment in 2001.

"What had been removed years earlier has been permanently restored," Keith said.

The achievement was highlighted during the 125th anniversary of the Ritzville-Adams County Journal in 2011. Keith, working with E.D. Trump stationed at a telegraph office in Fairbanks, Alaska, connected a dial-Morse circuit with the Journal office. The first item off the wire was a congratulatory proclamation from Ritzville Mayor Linda Kadlec.

According to Keith, it was the first Morse telegraphy heard operating in any newspaper office since the 1960s.

Keith said it was the museum board's dedication to restoring their telegraph office that inspired him to make Ritzville his home.

"That Depot is now a part of you, and you will always be part of that Depot," Flyckt told Keith.

Author Bio

Katie Teachout, Editor

Katie Teachout is the editor of The Ritzville Adams County Journal. Previously, she worked as a reporter at The Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle, the Oroville Gazette-Tribune, Northern Kittitas County Tribune and the Methow Valley News. She is a graduate of Western Washington University.

 

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