Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon means trains

Gurdon is at least in part about trains.

Before my family all got in town, I stayed with a friend on Front Street and got a great initiation as to what trains still mean to our community.

If I recall correctly, the first thing I heard every morning was a rooster crowing about 4 a.m. The bird had to get up early to be heard because by 4:30 a.m. the first train whistle blew.

By then, I was wide awake.

Normally, there was another train at 5, yet one more by 5:30 and sometimes one at 6 a.m.

Living that close to the tracks, all of the windows shook in the house, the sound nearly made a conversation impossible and sleeping in was out of the question.

This went on in my journey from October of 2004 until June of 2005. At that point, my family came home and I moved to Cherry Street.

At my current residence, I hear the trains in the distance in the early morning hours but we are too far away from the tracks for the windows to shake, and too far away for the train whistles to totally shut me up if I have something to say.

As to my first neighborhood, I am sure a door to door hearing aid salesman could make a living on Front Street.

But people are not the only victims of loud blasts of noise. There was a dog named Tweetie next door to where my room was located who used to put her paws over her ears when a whistle would blow and just howl in pain.

I wanted to do the same, but felt that might show me too obviously bothered.

On occasion, in the privacy of my room on Front Street, I do admit shaking my fist in the direction of the train siren blast when it woke me from a dream.

So what can a person do about loud train noises? I am not sure. Trains are obviously a part of the Gurdon society that have rolled through for decades and I dont see that changing.

In fact, I would imagine the whole issue of noise pollution might be forgiven if the Amtrack trains would start stopping in Gurdon again.

That would bring strangers to town and give a boost to our local economy.

But loud trains can have advantages. The trains shake the current Gurdon Times and keep me from dozing at my computer on a sultry afternoon.

Perhaps those loud train whistles qualify for an item we just have to accept in life. I have noticed the louder something is, the less sense it makes.

This is true of people too. I ought to know. I used to be pretty loud. This is John, still on his Journey.