GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – A nonprofit dedicated to maintaining a piece of Gladstone history is inviting the community to learn more about it.
Gladstone Soo Line Steam Engine #730 stands tall along M-35. All month long, Gladstone’s Upper Peninsula State Bank is hosting a smaller display put on by the Steam Engine Authority.
“We’ve been invited to celebrate the history of the Soo Line Railroad,” said Authority President John Pickard. “It coincides with our golf tournament that we have for a fundraiser to keep the perpetual care and museum that we’d like to have here in Gladstone.”
The display is filled with memorabilia, artwork, and educational panels that tell the story of the Soo Line and, by extension, Gladstone itself.
“The Soo Line was a big coal and flour manufacturer back in those days, and they needed a deep-water port,” Pickard explained. “They came to Gladstone because it’s such a nice deep-water port that’s natural. They didn’t have to do any dredging; you could pull up right to the shore. Our Buckeye area was where they had the coal docks and things like that. They also had an ore dock here at one time.”
As the years passed, industries like trucking began to gain traction and decreased the region’s reliance on the railroad.
“The Soo Line had their own boats that they would haul the material,” said Pickard. “Well, you couldn’t have a railroad and a boat. It was a Sherman Act that went through Congress and they outlawed that, so they had to dismantle their docks. Henry Ford came to Gladstone and dismantled everything, thinking they were going to have a Ford factory here in Gladstone. They tore everything down and actually moved to Iron Mountain. The land is still empty.”
Still, the railroad remained an important employer.
“I retired after 40 years of seniority working in the railroad industry, mainly all on train service,” recalled Soo Line retiree Thomas Moulds. “In my career, I was a brakeman, conductor, I pounded spikes on the section, I was an engineer, and I also was a train master, which is a manager of the railroad.”
Moulds is proud to be part of Soo Line and railroad history.
“In Upper Michigan here, the railroads are shrinking,” he said. “It’s not even half of what was here when I first started. The Chicago Northwestern was big in Escanaba—that was a big railroad—but they’re gone. Most of its owned by Canadian National, but it’s shrinking.”
That’s why the Steam Engine #730 Authority continues to curate displays like the one at Upper Peninsula State Bank that keep the Soo Line’s legacy alive.
“It shows what actually was here at one time,” said Moulds. “We’re trying to preserve the history of the steam engine for Soo Line.”
“It’s so important for us to remember the history of Gladstone and the history of the Soo Line,” Pickard said. “Gladstone wouldn’t be here without the Soo Line.”
The Upper Peninsula State Bank display, located inside the facility at 1 Lowrie Avenue, also includes a donation bin. The funds help the Gladstone Soo Line Steam Engine #730 Authority keep the engine safe from the elements and looking its best. The authority also hopes to raise enough funds to build a museum in the future.
Another opportunity to support the nonprofit is at its fourth annual 18-Hole Golf Scramble at the Escanaba Country Club on Thursday, May 29. The cost for a four-person team is $360, which includes green fees, dinner, and flight prizes. There will be raffles and a chance to win a new Jeep for a hole-in-one on the 13th green. Registration begins at 10 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 11 a.m.
To register for the Golf Scramble or for more information, visit the Escanaba County Club, contact Pickard at (906) 241-0888, or send a check to 8319 East Burntwood P.25 Drive in Gladstone. Anyone with items they would like to donate to the Soo Line display is also encouraged to contact Pickard.
