(erielack) That Wonderful Wilkie

[MDelvec952_@_aol.com]

Friends,
 
    This morning Tri-State lost one of its  family.  Bill Wilkie died 
suddenly about 5:00 a.m.  He had recent  bypass surgery and was making a rapid 
recovery.  
 
    Some of us saw him yesterday at the Homer Hill  Exhibit at the Watchung 
Arts Center.  He was happy, healthy looking, and he  said he felt great.  He 
loved seeing the Homer photos displayed in a  gallery big enough to show it all, 
and where it could be seen when standing in  one place.  He kidded and talked 
for a bit, had errands to run and  left.  Bill was one of the prime-movers in 
assembling the Homer Hill  exhibition display, and he was proud of it.
 
    Arrangements are being made by the family and we'll  share them when 
available.
 
    He's been a Tri-Stater for more than a  decade.  I remember when he 
started coming around that he jumped right in  on the restoration of Lackwanna 
baggage car 2038 in 1994.  He made the  wooden door railings that both hold the 
door open and prevent poeple in the car  from falling out, resembling the ones 
Lackawanna had made and used on its  fantrip baggage cars.
 
    He loved railroad history and was so proud that his  grandfather helped 
build railroads around Lake Superior. He enjoyed model  railroading and had 
started a small pike based after the Civil War with an  early brass engine, 4-4-0 
I think.
 
    He was willing to take over the publication  committee in the mid-1990s 
and was working to reprint our out-of-print  titles.  He ammassed a significant 
collection of period maps of New  Jersey and the iron district and several 
first edition books about local  railroad history, including mining survey 
publications from the 1800s. His  collection is significant and we'll work to make 
sure it's preserved if Bill  hasn't provided for it.
    
    But it turned out that Bill's greatest talent was  in thoroughly 
researching a topic, then turning that topic into an oral  presentation with slides 
and other visual aids.  He had such an  entertaining way about him, putting the 
topic into the context of its time and  place while relating it to today. The 
best known of these was his presentation  on the Rockaway Valley Railroad, a 
presentation he gave dozens of times to as  many groups, libraries and local 
historical societies. Luckily, this show has  been videotaped. If there's demand 
we might work toward making it available. One  of his funniest soliloquies 
related how the Erie Railroad disposed of New York  City's horse manure problem.
    
    Bill had been managing a heart condition as long as  I've known him -- I 
recall him being pulled in a red wagon around the Dover Flea  Market during 
one of Tri-State's first events there after one of his first heart  procedures. 
He had such a fun way about him; everything was logical, bright,  positive and 
optimistic when Bill was around.
 
    I'm still a bit stunned with the news.  We all  knew that Bill had the 
heart condition and we knew that he had been managing  it.  Sometimes bad things 
happen to good people.  
 
    Bill was a wonderful man and a great spirit. While  we lost him way too 
soon, we should celebrate that he lived and became an active  Tri-Stater; his 
participation and friendship made us a better group. 
 
Mike Del Vecchio
President
Tri-State Railway Historical Society
6/4/2007
    
 
 



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