MONROE — The annual Green County Model Railroaders Show and Swap Meet at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 26 and 27 at the Monroe’s SLICE arena. This will be the 48th Green County Model Railroaders Show and Swap Meet.
Among the displays and presenters will be Paul Schoenike, whose own collection has grown for over 86 years. Schoenike’s hobby with Lionel trains began just two days after he was born when his family doctor brought a train to the hospital. That very train still runs today.
Schoenike’s father made the first layout with paperboard kit houses when Paul was about 12 years old. He said he still has that layout in his home and has set it out at train shows in the past.
“He used to set it up on the dining room table at home around the holidays. Each home was hand-built and would have one, two or three lights in each,” Paul said. “My mom was always worried about company coming over. ‘Elmer, where is the company going to sit for dinner?’”
After moving to his current house in 1966, Paul began with a permanent layout in his basement. The layout and his train collection has been evolving ever since.
“Trains that used to be on the walls at my home are now sold,” he said.
He enjoys running his trains both at home and at train shows. He’s always finding ways to add new features, whether its train cars, or making traffic cones out and fences of other scrap materials. He likes when young children get involved and want to press the buttons that make a train move, or a container to unload. He’s had a table at various shows with scrap pieces he has let children build and create items, letting them feel the excitement and gratification of adding to a display.
“There’s an importance of finding a hobby as a young person. What are you interested in? What are you going to build from there?” said Schoenike, a longtime educator in the Monroe school district and retired for more than 25 years. “My train didn’t run fast, but it wasn’t just a toy to play with and destroy when we were kids. You learned to respect them and take care of them.”
Tom Moore, Argyle, will also have a model display at the train show. He said there will be about 150 tables set up, including 16 or more layouts of all scales.
“It’s open for kids of all ages,” Moore said.
The show will have refreshments, door prizes and free parking.
