 It's a summary statement of how at 17 years of age, Lincolnite David
Hepler III has known for well over half of his life what his future
would be. In addition, for well over half of his life he's been a
volunteer, working to preserve the history of that future, and
loving it.
With his dad among those listening to him speak, there is a brief
banter regarding who first dragged whom to the Monticello Railway
Museum, but regardless of how he got there, once he saw the magnificent
rail cars, cabooses and engines, the young man was hooked on trains.
Hepler recounted that at 7 years of age he landed a "job" at the
museum, walking the tracks and picking up cigarette butts, and he's
been there ever since.
However, over the years, his role as a volunteer at the museum
has evolved, and today he says that he still picks up butts from
time to time, but he's involved in a good many other tasks at the
museum as well.
The museum is manned 100 percent by volunteers, who serve in a
variety of capacities. The museum takes worn and rusted engines and
cars and spends countless hours refurbishing them, returning them to
their glory days.
Hepler said that Norfolk Southern offers a great deal of help to
the museum, including taking the cars and having them professionally
cleaned and topped off with fuel. They provide some financial
support and on occasion bring some of their own trains and crews
onto the museum grounds for the public to see.
Hepler said that those events are very special, as he gets the
opportunity to talk with engineers and crews and learn what they
feel as they cruise the tracks at 70 mph across the heartland.
In addition to help from Norfolk Southern, the museum has a spur
line that they are not using, and they have worked out agreements to
store rail cars for companies such as Archer Daniels Midland.
The companies lease space, and their fees are used to maintain
the museum as well as work on restoration of the engines the museum
receives and maintenance of those they are running.
Hepler said that there again, he gets opportunities to talk to
engineers and hear their stories as he helps with the line switches
for storing their cars.
He talks briefly about a conversation he had when the engineer
spoke of having to slow his train down to 5 mph because of the poor
condition of the track. The neighborhood folk would come out to the
train and toss sandwiches to the engineers and crews as they crawled
by at their slow pace.
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In addition to learning from those he admires, Hepler gets to
work on the trains he loves.
He said he has been involved in working on engines and cars and
is currently helping with the restoration of the museum's newest
acquisition.
The museum has tentative plans for the firing up and testing of
the Southern 401 steam engine this summer. Hepler said he has helped
with this project and is looking forward to seeing it on the track
later in the summer.
Hepler also serves as one of the train conductors on the weekend
rides. He said he very much enjoys talking to the people who come to
ride the train. Some learn from him, but there are also those who
have stories of their own, and he always enjoys hearing what they
have to share.
Hepler said he's known for a long while that trains are always
going to be a part of his future. He loves his work with the museum,
but it is a volunteer position. He hopes that his future will find
him with a rail company, in the seat of his own engine some day.
Hepler is currently a senior at University High School in
Bloomington. He is the son of David and Grace Hepler and is a
lifelong resident of Lincoln.
[By NILA SMITH]
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