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Hill 582 -
Latest update by Karl Joost |
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Bittersweet - best word to describe it. End of an era, but a phenomenal
gathering of good friends.
Thank you
to everyone who came out, and who wanted to come out, but couldn't for one
reason or another. Was a beautiful day, the trains were a plenty, and the
conversations were just as enjoyable. Here are a few pics from Saturday's
memorial open house for the Hilltender - Don Toles.
It was a bittersweet trip, one that I've been on countless times before.
This one had a tone of finality in it, yet it was something I was looking
forward to once I got there, because it involved seeing many others who also
knew, cared about and truly appreciated Don Toles, Hilltender of Hill 582.
After
his burial in January, we all decided to have some sort of gathering on the
Hill. An open house ended up being the perfect type of meet and greet to
reminisce, reconnect, and remember the guy who started planting trees in
1991, leading to the railfan oasis that exists today.
Seeing
everyone trek up the hill one by one Saturday morning, and as everyone made
it to the top, they were greeted by Don's voice. He finally relented in 2018
and allowed me to capture his story in high definition.
This
allowed for everyone to actually hear the stories of some of the earliest
plantings, successes, failures, and just musings about the journey.
Everyone who came had stories to tell, heard things they never knew about,
enjoyed each others' company, and saw many TRAINS. BNSF and Union Pacific
did not disappooint in the slightest. Written by Karl Joost |
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Special
thank you to Don's friend (and mutual to all of us) Ruedi Schai. Over the
past few years, from his shop in Switzerland, Reudi has created the memorial
plaques that mark the passing of people that have had some association with
the hill, or have been a prominent fixture in the railfan community.
When asked to make one
more plaque for Don, he decided that hand carrying everything would be
better. So he planned an entire trip around this day, and did some traveling
before and after. He made decals, and made sure every other plaque on the
hill got a fresh makeover. Made the day that much more special.
Don
was not much for pomp and circumstance, nor did he approve any sort of
ceremonies of any sort after his passing. I think, however, he would have
approved of this gathering. Was a great day. Written by Karl Joost |
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KJ-01:
The plaque. Very hard to capture what he did on that hill, but we sure tried. |
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KJ-02:
Prominently displayed next to the whole reason for the hill's name, one cant
read what's on it without the inherent risk of a train coming down the south
track causing a distraction. |
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KJ-03:
Marc, Ed and Don J make up the team that now maintains the hill. Marc is the
most local and handles all the "hardware" of the hill that isn't green or
needs water. Ed still drives up the hill from Rancho with 200 gallons of
water twice a week. Don J drives into town, stays at the Cajon Pass Inn so
he can keep an eye on the trains, but then does the back breaking work of
trying to keep the fire roads passable - bless his heart. |
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KJ-04: Reudi and Marc take measurements below the new plaque for a possible
addition at a later date - stay tuned |
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KJ-05: Shade and sun, cool breezes, and a train. Can't mess with perfection |
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KJ-06:
Normally filled with cars, everyone sat in shady spots (then moved when the
sun found them) and had great conversations. |
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KJ-07:
The park bench was heavily used, and is a great place to eat lunch and keep
an eye on the trains. |
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KJ-08:
Gail (right) was married to a gentleman who worked at Summit. Their family
lived next to Chard Walker and his family when they all lived at Summit. She
was a delight to have a conversation with. |
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big thank you goes to Karl for these 8 photos with captions. |
