A Golden Sesquicentennial

As a big-time train enthusiast, I am particularly excited about today's occasion marking the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony on May 10, 1869, and the official completion of the first United States transcontinental railroad.

It was quite an engineering feat to lay railroad tracks through the vast wilderness areas of the western United States, and in the case of the Central Pacific Railroad being built east, building over and through mountains.  Those hardy workers, many of them immigrants, deserve much credit for their part in this monumental achievement.

I think it's good an occasion like this, in our very interconnected modern world, to think back to life in 1869 when transportation, especially over long distances, was not as feasible, and thus, people couldn't experience that connection as easily.

With this railroad complete, there would be an immense transformation in US society, as people and goods could more easily move across the country from coast to coast in much less time than before, bringing the country together more closely, which had already been alluded to by the construction of a transcontinental telegraph system, helping expedite communications across the country.

I tuned in to live coverage of the Golden Spike ceremony reenactment on KSL's website, a ceremony that was held at the Golden Spike National Historical Park in northern Utah.  I watched the coverage for about 15 minutes, when the reenactment was happening.  There were multiple different ceremonial spikes that were driven in to the rail ties that joined the tracks of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads.  Different people made different presentations of the significance of their spikes, which were of different metals like gold and silver.

When the final spike was driven in, it triggered a communication signal sent via the telegraph that would cause several things to happen hundreds of miles away, like a giant ball to drop in the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., and the Liberty Bell to start ringing.

As I watched the coverage, I was amazed to see these different, far-flung parts of the country coverging together in one historic ceremony.  The United States would be brought together in a whole new way, and we could become more connected and engage with one another more closely.  Certainly my experiences in traveling across the United States, especially onboard an Amtrak train, is something that evokes breathless wonder in me as I behold the vast variety of people and places in the Unites States, and the amazing realization that all of it is part of one great nation.

As noted by one of the commentators present on the live coverage, it was a simple tap by a tool driving down the spike that brought together a nation--kind of like a small step by a person 100 years later would mark a giant leap for humankind in reaching the moon.

One other aspect of the reenactment that struck me was a prayer offered by the Reverend Dr. John Todd, who traveled all the way to Utah from Pittsfield, MA.  He praises God for granting to humankind the capacity to make attain great achievements, and petitions God that the railroad may continue to serve as a reminder of our ability to do good works and that peace and strength may continue to prevail throughout the United States.

It is a wonder that God gives us humans the ability to achieve greatly.  In a fallen world, though, these achievements have been used for malevolent purposes.  Yet by the power of God's salvific work that redeems the world, we can turn our sights on using our capacity to innovate and invent to work wonders for our world, and serve our fellow people.  We can join together more closely in using our wondrous feats to make a better world.  In light of the Easter Season, we can rejoice in the new achievements we attain through the innovation of new ideas that make the amazing happen.

So in the spirit of commemorating 150 years since the Golden Spike completed the first US transcontinental railroad, let us rejoice at what we have attained that has enhanced our world, and what we can continue to do, through the gifts God has given us, to continue achieving a better world.

And let us recall the words on the Golden Spike that was nailed in: "May God continue the unity of our Country as this Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world."

It took much strenuous effort to complete the first transcontinental railroad, and much of America's character was reflected in the effort that resulted in such an incredible achievement for its time, considering the diverse workforce of the project, and how all those workers labored with the determination that is so interwoven into American character.  What they did 150 years ago knit together more tightly the far-flung reaches of the United States, and made way for greater economic prosperity as people could travel more quickly than ever before.

In that spirit, may God continue to prosper the United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean as we strive toward great unity as a people, just as the first transcontinental railroad united us in a whole new way a century and a half ago.