Time Shift 2012/1952

      Ok gang, here we go. I am pulling a little time shift this week. I am going to take us way back to the beginning. Not the start of time, just the beginning of East Farewell, the album.    
       The whole story starts on July 13th 1952. The town has been around for a while, the Mighty Keystone railroad pretty much owns the town. They planned it and they built the the station there. The Iron Works is the largest employer in town and supplies rails to the railroad. Mrs. Mallard has had her boarding house open for a few years, housing workers and the crop of summer visitors who have just discovered the town. Natalie, Mrs. Mallard’s daughter, is just coming of age and is quite the scamp. Other characters have yet to be introduced. The Korean War is in full swing and there are several town boys serving. The Lost Oasis is in business but most of the restaurants have yet to open. The Travelers Baseball team is having a super year but still does not have a home stadium. They are forced to play on a makeshift field but are doing well.
       So, join in the dream and ride along while I report the coming and goings, up and downs and ever evolving lives of the folks from East Farewell.
       For your entertainment I have added a brief history of East Farewell to help you understand where the town came from. Enjoy.

THE HISTORY of EAST FAREWELL

East Farewell was incorporated July 13, 1902 by the Lendel brothers, Sid and Lou. They were working for the Mighty Keystone Railroad as surveyors and line planners. The railroad was trying to establish passenger service along the main line across the state and connecting the East Coast to the Midwest. The Lendel brothers chose a site that ran along a pristine lake, later named Lake Charles after Sid’s son. The railroad was looking for a location that was approximately half way down the line to place an iron foundry to produce rails for the lines expansion. The location was perfect for a small town that would help the railroad and attract workers, businesses and well-heeled railroad executives.

The Lendel brothers were visionary town planners. They designed East Farewell with all the best municipal facilities of the day. They designed a complete water system as well as a full sanitary sewer system. They laid out a street grid system with wide streets centered around the train station. Lake Shore Drive circled Lake Charles and offered stunning views of the lake as well as prime real estate locations.  Main Street intersected Lake Shore drive at the train station and proceeded south to finally intersect with Route 10 the main east-west highway in the state.

Unfortunately, the Lendel brothers were better planners than businessmen. They went broke after investing a modest fortune in building East Farewell. The railroad, however, did extremely well and after building the Iron Works it bought out the Lendel brothers and proceeded to expand the town.

The album, "East Farewell" picks up in the early 50’s as the town is on an upswing. The railroad business is booming. The town has a strong economic base of the Iron Works and many small support businesses, bars and restaurants. The town has also parlayed the beauty of Lake Charles and somewhat remote location into a lucrative vacation destination business. Boarding houses like Mrs. Mallard’s line Lake Shore Drive and accommodate visitors like Mr. Pitts, whose reputation is somewhat dubious. Natalie, Mrs. Mallard’s daughter, sings, dances and entices at the Lost Oasis, a local bar. Jake the Bartender doles out sage advice. Bernie and Sue fall in love. Slick Rick grumbles about his situation. In the end Natalie finds fulfillment and happiness with the realization of the true beauty of the town.

You can follow the everyday goings on of the town by logging onto "The News of East Farewell" on the web site; www.creativeventuresmusic.com/news.html.
Listen, enjoy and have fun.