In November of 2000, it was my good fortune to meet my dear friend Harvey Houck at a toy train event that was held in Pasadena California and establish a what would become a long-time friendship. At that time, Harvey and wife Elaine were living in Southern California; in the town of Temecula to be exact. I would have been all of 49 years of age at the time and Harvey 76 years. Although we were a generation apart, most valued and memorable to me was Harvey’s good-natured willingness to freely share personal accounts regarding his life-long experiences and passion for railroading going back as early as the late 1920s upon receiving his first Lionel electric train at Christmas. As in the case of my late father, Harvey’s era, life experiences and service to his country as a WW II veteran, truly exemplified those qualities that we refer to in reverence today as “the greatest generation.” Over the years, Harvey and I shared many more good times at train meets together; all the time in between talking trains over the phone or by mail in letters. Knowing my background in writing and connection with Kalmbach publishing, Harvey happily received both an article I had written on his behalf, based on his childhood and adult model railroading experiences as well as a story from the editor of Classic Toy Trains magazine in recognition his 1931 membership in the Lionel Engineers Club. I was so honored and privileged to have Harvey as a dear friend; the memories of the many good time shared as well as all that Harvey shared of himself will never be forgotten.
Mike Seibert
