Russell Crosby of Sapulpa, Okla., on Thursday was named the city’s 2013 Citizen of the Year for his work on the famed trolley car on Route 66 and other tourism attractions over the years, according to the Sapulpa Daily Herald.
His list of accomplishments is impressive:
His contributions in Sapulpa include the transformation of an old trolley car into a tourist stop on Historic Route 66, murals inside the Post office and the Creek County Courthouse, the Big Build playground, the restoration of the Waite Phillips Gas Station, the formation of the Sapulpa Fire Museum, the Guardian of the Plains buffalo and the documentation of the Liberty Glass legacy. He received the Governor’s Arts Award last autumn for his service to his community. […]
He now serves Sapulpa as a member of the Sapulpa Trolley and Rail Museum, the Rotary Club of Sapulpa, the Sapulpa Historical Society Board and the Memorial Foundation. He is the vice president and general manager of the Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway Company, where he has worked for 39 years.
His influence extends beyond Sapulpa. The railway was instrumental in moving a historic steam engine to a Route 66 roadside park in southwest Tulsa a couple of years ago. You can see the move in this video:
(Image of the historic trolley at Sapulpa, Okla., by Kevin via Flickr)
Bravo, Mr. Crosby. Lucky Sapulpa, Every community should be so lucky as to have such a dedicated champion.