When members of the southbound construction crew hammered their line's final spike at Purcell shortly after 5 p.m. April 26, 1887, the preferred mode of transportation in central Oklahoma changed. Less than two months later, the first passenger trains headed north through Norman at about 1 p.m. Freight shipments allowed the ranchers and farmers in Chickasaw country to the southwest and the Pottawatomie stockmen to the east to ship their products out.

The freight load into Norman increased dramatically two years later when the president made the proclamation opening the land for settlement and the April 22, 1889, land run. Farm implements, dry goods, fabricated houses, lumber and other merchandise needed by the settlers was headed to Norman station.

That station itself proved inadequate. Norman businessmen lobbied for a larger depot building to replace the shed put up earlier. Twenty years later, yet another depot was built after Transcript editor J.J. Burke complained about the aroma exuding from the stuffy waiting room. With 50 to 75 waiting passengers, along with dogs, the "perfume" was reported strong and travelers were near suffocation on cold days. The first impression of the booming Norman, a county seat and home to the University of Oklahoma, was embarrassing.

Editor Burke's month of advocacy journalism paid off. Norman got a visit from Santa Fe higher-ups who agreed to build a larger depot. They turned over keys to the building on Nov. 18, 1909. That $150,000 structure, although altered and remodeled many times since, stands today. The building's centennial will be marked next month with a birthday celebration, oral history DVD and essay contest.

n n n

The railroad brought my ancestors to Oklahoma. My great-grandfather, a German immigrant, helped lay the rails through the future site of Norman. Two years later he participated in the land run.

As a young kindergartner at Jackson Elementary School, my class rode the rails from Norman to Purcell. It was an annual rite of passage for Norman schoolkids. Teachers herded us onto the passenger cars. Some kids cried as they waved to their parents, likely the first time they'd been out of town without them. One Norman school, Gingerbread House, continues that tradition each year.

Later, we said goodbye to my mother and her mother at the depot. They rode the rails south to Dallas where they boarded a plane bound for Guatemala where a relative was a missionary priest. My father had to convince his children their mother wasn't running away from her six children and that she would return in a few weeks.

What are your depot memories? The committee celebrating the centennial has invited the public to share their recollections of Norman's depot, now named the Performing Arts Studio. We'll publish some of the winning entries during Depot Centennial Week Nov. 15-20. Additionally, an oral history DVD will become part of the depot centennial's permanent record. Essay forms are available at the depot and are due back by Oct. 30. They ask that essays be limited to 350 words.

n n n

Perhaps you arrived for classes at the university on the train. Do you remember meeting the OU football team there after a road victory? Or seeing servicemen off to fight in World War II? Thousands of young sailors arrived on the train for service at the two Naval bases built here. In later years, the depot has been the site of weddings, concerts and family celebrations.

Passenger rail service dwindled in the 1960s and 1970s. The interstates lured station wagons full of vacationing families. Airlines were faster and more direct. Passenger service was suspended for about 20 years and restarted in 1999 with a refurbished depot. Amtrak's Heartland Flyer leaves from the depot each morning and arrives back after dark. Boosters hope to add a northern leg for the Flyer, taking passengers north to Kansas and transfers to east-west routes.

The winning essay will receive two round-trip tickets on the Flyer to Fort Worth and a night's stay with champagne and breakfast at the Aston Hotel in Fort Worth. Videotaped interviews will be conducted from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 21 and Oct. 23 at the Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave. Interviews will be scheduled every 30 minutes and appointments can be made by calling 307-9320 or by e-mailing the committee at pas@thepas.org.

Andy Rieger 366-3543 editor@normantranscript.com