10 Comments
User's avatar
Kevin Beck's avatar

I was one of many who first learned this story through the song. I didn't know anything about the person now credited with creating the song, as the first version I ever heard was by Doc Watson. But now I have more knowledge of the facts than I ever did!

Expand full comment
Jason A Clark's avatar

I knew about the song as well though I couldn't even have hummed the tune. Once I started researching I realized how little I actually knew about the story.

Expand full comment
Steve Stewart's avatar

Thank you for your insightful article.

I started laughing at myself as I rounded the bend towards your final conclusion: I kept thinking, “This is so long—he could have told it with half as many sentences.”

Eventually I realized I was like Casey Jones—I nearly missed the point because I was speed reading. 🙄😅

Expand full comment
Jason A Clark's avatar

😂😂 I guess there's a point in that for both of us! Though I've tried to write less...it seems I always have more to say. 😬 I think I get that from my dad. He was a long-winded preacher. I mean, even this comment could be shorter.

Expand full comment
Steve Stewart's avatar

Ha! Believe me, I get it. In grad school (I’m a retired Mental Health Therapist), we were occasionally required to transcribe our sessions verbatim, including every word and uhm and pause. That obviously created a lasting (shocking) memory.

Expand full comment
Ronda Wells MD's avatar

Interesting, informative devotional!

Expand full comment
Jim McCraigh's avatar

Thanks for posting!

Expand full comment
Chuck Phillips's avatar

Love this reflection! Delays and waiting are meant to be our redemption and sanctification…thanks for this reminder, and highlighting the Biblical history of those who faithfully lived while waiting!

Expand full comment
Jeffrey W Massey's avatar

Great article on Casey Jones, and one of the most famous train wrecks in Southern history. It is interesting to note that Vaughan, MS is located just north of Jackson (the state capital) along both Interstate 55 and US Hwy 51, both of which follow the railroad tracks, which in turned followed a state coach route that was born when Mississippi was only a territory.

The distance between Jackson and Memphis is 200 miles and feels like you are going back in time and is worth a drive if you are ever in that part of the state.

https://misspreservation.com/2018/09/19/head-out-on-the-highway-u-s-51/

Expand full comment
Jason A Clark's avatar

Thanks for the great info. I was sad to learn in my research that there's no longer even a plaque located at the actual crash site (it kept getting stolen). There's almost nothing there at all.

I wouldn't be surprised if the site is someday lost to memory. How quickly we forget...

Expand full comment