A Thank You For Our Volunteers As...

IRM Makes Friends with Thomas

From Rail & Wire Issue 192, November 2001

a letter from a visitor

To the People at The Illinois Railroad [sic] Museum:
This is a late letter of thanks. I wanted to get it out regardless. This past summer we took a couple of mini type family vacations. One of these trips was to see Day Out With Thomas. We found that it was a truly positive experience. Our daughter had the best time of all of the activities we went to this summer at Day Out With Thomas. She is three and loves trains, especially Thomas.

Many family destinations are priced so that it is almost impossible for a family to afford the event. The admission costs are high, the food is priced out of affordable range, and the family must pay for activities within the gates. We were able to ride trains other than Thomas because no additional cost was involved and we were able to stay longer because we were able to afford snacks to keep us going.

During our visit, a little boy became separated from his parents, and all focus turned to finding the parents and getting the little boy back with them. I felt it was obvious that the employees and volunteers of the Museum are focused on children and family first. This was a wonderful feeling and I wanted to thank the Museum and people who work and volunteer there for providing an outing that our family can consider going back to again in future years whether for special events or for a visit strictly for the Museum.

Sincerely,
Karen Kaminski [Peoria, Illinois]