Published: June 10, 2009 09:00 am      

Heritage residents to paint trains

Ivy Brashear / Staff Writer

Lexington had horses.

Berea had hands.

Even little Cadiz in Trigg County had pigs.

Corbin is going to have trains.

When Vicki Broussera heard about the Public Arts Project being brought to Corbin, and that the project involved a tribute to Corbin’s railroading past, she jumped at the opportunity for her residents at Heritage Nursing Home to be a part of it.

“Several people here, whether it’s them or their grandparents, have been involved with the railroad,” Vicki said.

It was more than an art project for her residents — it was a visit to the memory of a heritage that had directly or indirectly affected them. It was very important to her residents, Broussera said.

The Public Arts Project has been spear-headed by Main Street Program Manager Sharae Myers, who said she was originally seeking “skilled artists” to paint the trains, much like the horses in Lexington and the hands in Berea had been painted.

When Myers discovered the interest of the residents at Heritage, though, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to let them be a part of the project.

“This is a way for the project to honor the contributions of those who dedicated their lives to the railroad. I saw this as a great way for them to continue that contribution,” Myers said.

Myers said seeing those who have such a strong connection to the railroad and its influence in Corbin “makes the project what it’s supposed to be,” because it gets the community involved.

The residents are planning to decoupage the train with copies of actual documents that Broussera borrowed from one of her residents who used to be a conductor for the railroad. Some of the documents date back to when that resident’s grandfather was a railroad man.

Decoration of the Heritage train will begin on Thursday, and Broussera said the train will be revealed during the Nibroc parade. The residents who helped to decorate the train will ride a float carrying their train through the parade.

After that, the train will be placed with the other trains in a sculpture garden in the vacant lot at the corner of Main and Monroe streets, Myers said.

She also said information about the project and the history of the railroad will be placed around the trains so that others might understand the importance of the railroad in Corbin’s past. That is something that the residents of Heritage Nursing Home already understand and will try to convey with their train.

Anyone wanting more information about the Public Arts Project should contact Sharae Myers at (606) 215-0127.