In 1901, as a train carried her from her home in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, to the Dickinson County community of Enterprise, Carry Nation, the famed evangelist––and temperance campaigner––was planning her next anti-alcohol conquest. She was headed to Enterprise where a saloon had been built on Factory Street to the consternation of Catherine Hoffman, the wife of miller and town founder Christian Hoffman. Mrs. Hoffman met Mrs. Nation at the depot, and the two women joined forces with some other women in the community. The army of women, led by the stone-faced Carrie Nation (armed with a hatchet), marched to the saloon, which was one of the town’s two drinking establishments. She entered the and began to break up the saloon. The next day, Mrs. Nation wreaked havoc on Enterprise’s other saloon, this time threatening the saloon owners’ personal safety. The legend of Carry Nation is a grand chapter in local folklore and Kansas history, and on Saturday, June 21, we’re reliving this story on the A&SV Smoky Valley Limited dinner train. Join us as we re-enact this pre-Prohibition Era event! And we’re feeding you well! Your dinner on the Limited includes your choice of roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy OR marinated baked chicken breast in white wine cream sauce and mashed potatoes. Both entrees come with a seasoned vegetable medley, dinner rolls, side salad and, for dessert, a key lime pie square. Iced tea and water accompany your meal, prepared by Amanda Collins of Amanda’s Bakery and Bistro in Abilene. Our two-hour train ride begins at 6:00 p.m. at Abilene’s iconic Rock Island Depot and stops in Enterprise at the Hoffman Mill and Country Store. Join us for a colorful re-enactment of Dickinson County history on the Abilene and Smoky Valley, the Kansas Heritage Railroad.
