By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE – Kiwanis Park, home of the Great Lakes Live Steamers miniature trains, will host Halloween train rides Oct. 18 to 20 at the park, 13901 Leroy.
The trains will offer rides from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18 and 19, and noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 20 for a daylight run. Children are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes. Illuminated nighttime Halloween displays along the tracks will be lit during the Friday and Saturday evening rides. After the ride children will receive a treat.
The dedication of the Bob and Anna Renaud Train Barn is planned for the Halloween event. Mayor Joseph Kuspa said the date and time of the dedication has not yet been set.
“Our train park is really becoming a popular gathering place for our community, even when the trains are not running,” Kuspa said at the Oct. 2 City Council study session. “The new train-themed playscape is very popular for our Southgate families, and visitors from throughout the Downriver area.”
Kuspa said Anna Renaud has made a significant contribution to the park by funding the train barn, which provides the Great Lakes Live Steamers crews with a place to work on their trains, “to keep them in service for many years to come.”
Kuspa said he looks forward to the dedication honoring the former councilwoman and her late husband, Robert, a 70-year resident of Southgate, who loved to ride the trains. Robert Renaud died Aug. 5, 2018, of a brain aneurysm.
(Sue Suchyta can be reached at [email protected])