Democrat plan naming Maine railroad for Floridian may be derailed

By Ted Cohen/The Maine Wire

A state senator apparently forgot to stop, look and listen before trying to name a Maine railroad crossing for a Florida tourist with no local ties.

Locals in the picturesque coastal village of Wiscasset can’t figure out what Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, was thinking.

Or, more to the point, why she sprung it on them with no warning.

At a recent hearing they questioned why Ross would name a crossing for someone from Florida with no connection to Maine.

Sen. Talbot Ross claims that James Weldon Johnson, whom she described as a civil-rights advocate, deserves his memory to be honored even though he has no links to the Pine Tree State.

But townspeople said Johnson is already memorialized by a community bench that was placed in his name after he was killed 87 years ago by a train at the crossing.

Moreover, they felt blindsided by the lawmaker’s strange proposal.

The generic crossing is not otherwise identifiable to the average Mainer other than by its location – across from the iconic Red’s Eats.

But Ross, former House speaker and first black woman elected to the state legislature, apparently believes Johnson’s legacy by far eclipses a lobster-roll takeout stand, no matter how popular Red’s is.

“This was a man who spent his life trying to move democracy forward for all Americans, not for just black people,” she told selectmen.

Townspeople are unmoved.

Almost aghast, actually, at the lack of logic attached to the idea.

They agreed Johnson, once a leader of the NAACP and author of a poem that became the black national anthem, was a worthy citizen but questioned dedicating the crossing — in addition to the bench — to him.

He had no ties to Wiscasset other than getting killed while vacationing in the oceanside community when his car was hit by a train June 26, 1938.

“I guess I could make the argument that my great-grandfather was a wonderful man, my grandfather was a wonderful man, my father was a wonderful man, and they all took their last breath here in Wiscasset as well,” said Chet Grover. “So, I would say, where’s our memorial?”

Additionally, some pointed out that there is already the bench dedicated to Johnson’s memory built two years ago by Heather Jones, who was a member of the Select Board.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of if this person deserves this or not, or if there’s a bench or not,” said Laura Mewa. “I really think it comes down to, how many memorials is one person going to have? We have a bench, now we’re going to potentially have a crossing, so next year are we going to have a street named and then a building? When does it end?”

Selectman James Andretta urged fellow board members to reject naming the crossing for an out-of-stater.

“It’s my duty to vote in favor of the residents,” Andretta said.

Naming the crossing for a Floridian would be in stark contrast to the Donald Davey Memorial Bridge just a few yards north of the rail line.

The bridge linking Wiscasset and Edgecomb is marked by plaques memorializing a local Maine deputy sheriff killed 40 years ago when an oncoming tractor trailer crossed the center line, slamming into Davey’s southbound patrol car.