On Oct. 1, Tropical Storm Ian threatened to rain not just on Hurlock's parade, but the petting zoo, pony rides, music, vendors and excited riders boarding its beloved excursion train. All but the weather were set to celebrate the town's 30th Fall Festival.

But on Saturday, Oct. 8, a perfect fall day more than made up for the delay. A nonstop throng of all ages flocked to the site surrounding the town's celebrated train station and tracks, many accompanied by furry, four-legged friends.

Tickets for the five coveted train ride slots, the first departing at 11 a.m. and the last at 5 p.m., had been on sale for a month through the town office.

Still, business on Fall Fest day was brisk as usual, with people lining up for tickets as early as 8 a.m. It didn't surprise Doris Christopher, one of a pair of dedicated American Legion Auxiliary volunteers who have manned the ticket table each festival year since 1992.

Mrs. Christopher, who turns 96 this week, seemed to have a smile for each mom, grandmom, teen and tot stopping by to see if any of the $8 tickets remained for the hourlong round-trip ride from Hurlock to Federalsburg.

Fellow volunteer Betty Harrison stepped up to share daylong ticket table duty several years ago following the passing of Mrs. Christopher's best friend, Betty Lowe, who originally worked alongside her.

Both ladies took the occasional gusts of chilly October wind in stride, enjoying the chance to greet old friends and meet new ones.

While neither woman recalled having taken the ride themselves recently, Harrison had fond memories of an elementary school class railroad ride from East New Market to Hurlock.

Christopher has done most of her riding as a Dorchester County school bus driver for 35 years. Upon retiring, her son took over her routes.

Pam Meagher, who now lives in Salisbury, grew up in Hurlock and remembered when Christopher drove her school bus. At her own nearby vendor table, Ms. Meagher was accompanied by her mother, Jeannette Reed, still a town resident, living in the house Ms. Meagher grew up in.

Always a crafter, taught to sew as a youngster by a neighbor, she'd gone on to make all her own clothes. Her Fall Fest craft table offered a trove of hand-fashioned seasonal items, from fabric pumpkins to microwavable bowl cozies plus kid-friendly favorites including washable storybooks, a tooth fairy pillow and book pillows, featuring pockets to store bedtime stories.

Vendor April Bennett discovered her gift for turning stained glass scraps into treasured keepsakes by accident. Through an aunt who created stained glass art, Ms. Bennett was able to acquire a full box of leftover pieces for $15. Without realizing it then, Ms. Bennett had gathered her own life-sustaining means of expression.

A longtime poet, she found her inspiration stymied by writer's block while going through a painful divorce. The loss of a job added to her difficulties, but also gave her time to explore the possibilities presented by the box's beautiful remnants.

"I would pull out a piece, and it would look to me like a sail, or a desk, or a house," Ms. Bennett recalled, smiling. Sometimes a picture formed quickly, other times it would take a while to develop, she added. In the process, she found a new way to rhyme, using glass instead of words.

Among the first pieces she created used a 1954 nickel as the center of a glass shard flower; it became a birthday gift for her mother. Another floral design given to a friend at Park Lane Church in Federalsburg used white glass bits to evoke a calla lily, the woman's favorite.

Boyfriend Michael Paul, minding the table when Ms. Bennett momentarily stepped away, described how she took things “everybody else throws away” and turned them into treasures. "I've never seen anything else like it. Each one's totally unique," he said.

"She never puts a price tag on her work. She'll ask people to tell her how much they think it's worth, and won't take a penny more," he noted.

His own favorite among her collection is a picture featuring three rectangular pieces of glass set on a backdrop of burlap, each set off by two small shiny squares.

"When I see that, it looks like houses you might see out here anywhere and just pass by. But in the picture, you stop and look and really see them – magical," Mr. Paul added.

By mid-afternoon, as local band Twisted Fate serenaded visitors behind the train station, tall, stately Tom Posatko, wearing a conductor's hat and attire, perused the numerous artifacts and photos inside the refurbished building, now a mini museum dedicated to the town's long gone but never forgotten railroad history.

Affiliated with the Wilmington chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, Mr. Posatko explained that the chapter was happy to be asked by the city to provide the staff needed to safely operate the excursion.

A lifelong lover of trains since his boyhood in the upstate Pennsylvania coal region, Mr. Posatko has enjoyed being involved with NRHS since retirement. Before coming to Hurlock, he'd been in Roanoke, Virginia, for a four-day event.

Besides "getting to ride the trains for free all day," as Posatko jokingly quipped, he especially enjoys being able to expose the joy of trains to a whole new generation of kids, who may not know anything about them.

"If you have any interest in history at all, railroads have been a part of so much that helped build this country," he said.

About 3 p.m., one last ticket remained for the final 5 p.m. train ride. Cynthis Sturgis asked if she could purchase it and hold 3-year-old grandson Cree on her lap. Taking one look at the youngster's smiling face, Mrs. Christopher and Mrs. Harrison nodded in agreement, and handed a grateful Sturgis the pink slip of paper for the short but memorable journey, maybe making another youngster a train lover for life.