The Archives of Appalachia’s newest digital exhibit “A Day in the Life: The Railroad” tells the story of Gary Emmert, who worked on the railroad for 43 years, with interactive options that give viewers a personal perspective of the railroad.
“A Day in the Life: The Railroad” launched Jan. 13 and has been visited by nearly 50 people online. The virtual experience starts with an introduction to Emmert and then leads participants through a typical day’s work on the railroad, including photographs and audio from an interview with Emmert and archives assistant Sandy Laws. Customizable scenarios, like hotbox, slippage or derailment, allow viewers to personalize their day on the railroad.
“When you come in here to the Archives and you look at our railroad collections, you’re opening up a box,” said Laws, “You’ve got correspondence in that box, you’ve got the history of the railroad in that box, but you don’t have a person in that box.”
Laws felt that presenting pieces of the Archives of Appalachia’s extensive railroad collection, which contains over 300 ledgers and 700 boxes of information alongside Emmert’s story breathes life into the history of the railroad.
Emmert completed an associate’s degree in accounting with a minor in history before deciding college was not for him. Both his great-grandfather and father worked on trains, so Emmert grew up knowing the railroad.
“It’s a job when you draw a salary,” said Emmert. “It’s a passion when you love what you’re doing. You don’t care if they call you at 2 o’clock in the morning to go to work. That’s a passion, that’s not a job. A lot of people have jobs, not very many people have passions in their workplace.”
Emmert gathered interesting stories on the railroad, including meeting President John F. Kennedy and building strong bonds with his co-workers. He said that retiring hurt him “worse than anything in the world.”
Emmert now volunteers at the George L. Carter Railroad museum to continue the memory of the railroad.
“When people will learn the history of railroading and trains, they’ll learn the history of this country,” said Emmert.
“A Day in the Life: The Railroad” is currently being taught in an elementary school classroom. Laws plans on collaborating with librarians and teachers in the area. The virtual nature of this exhibit allows for more interaction, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Digital access to the Archives of Appalachia’s collections has increased engagement by five-fold since 2019.
ETSU students can take advantage of the Archive of Appalachia’s nearly two miles worth of collections for research, as well as personal purposes. Students are also encouraged to apply for the Margaret Huffman Grant which awards up to $2,000 for projects that utilize archive materials.
The Archives of Appalachia is also working on new projects like “A Soldier’s Letters Home” which will tell the story of a local World War II hero, the experiences of international students from the 1940s through the 1960s at ETSU during segregation and an exhibit about the history of the Tennessee state flag.
“There’s never a dull moment in here,” said Laws. “We’re always working on something.”
