Reflections on the Railroad
Journal entries from trip participants, posted from the road...

"Today the view crossing the Ohio River to the freedom land was inspirational."

"I am so glad I was chosen to come on this adventure. I have learned so much. Sometimes I feel like it's nearly an overload!"

"I learned so much. I am still sorting and processing information. Today's journey reinforced my belief that these were good people who were both black and white, that they worked together to end the tortuous existences of enslaved people shows that color does not have to be a devisive issue. . . . I will try to impart [to my students] the somewhat claustrophobic feeling of being in a safehouse hideaway. I'm thinking that hiding in a closet or box might be a way to make it real, but need to think more about it. . . . When we were in the holding pen in Maysville I did not like the way it felt when Jerry shut the door. There were too many people cramped together. I thought about what it must have been like to know you couldn't open the door and leave."

"Everything I am learning is giving me a much better insight into my/our country's past."

"What a terrific family the Rankins were to all help and try to overcome what the government had established. How could so much misery could be hidden in homes that looked and seemed so harmless. . . . I felt so much pain, horror. How could man be so evil? How could man make anyone suffer so much?"

"Being able to 'leave the text' and give concrete, specific examples based on my own experiences from this trip will make my teaching much more interesting for my students."

"Preb. minister Rankin risked his life and the lives of his children, posting them with loaded firearms at the front and back entrances to his home."

"The smell of Phillip's Folly hit me more than the sight hit me. The stale, depressing, dank air was more depressing than the tight spaces. I kept recalling how could you ever have a cheerful thought cramped in such a space. A space designed to dehumanize an entire people."

"The view of the river was incredible. Such strength, such peace, or such turbulence that is carreid along its currents."

"I saw the windows of Maysville open as eyes to seek those finding a last comforting stop before crossing the Ohio river. The candles burning in the windows served to remind everyone who saw them that this house was one of safety."

"Today as we looked from John Rankin's house over the Ohio River, I was moved to tears. To stand on the hill where Rankin's cabin still stands filled me with such a sense of peace knowing many, many slaves found protection in its corridors. Each day, I learn more about the extreme lengths abolitionists went to in order to help enslaved Africans get that which rightfully belongs to all men -- freedom."

The "Footsteps to Freedom 1999" Route

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