Medina teachers rid graffiti from vandalized rail cars

Photos courtesy of Cody Catlin: A group of 26 Medina teachers volunteered to scrub graffiti off vandalized rail cars at the Medina Railroad Museum.

MEDINA – A group of Medina teachers showed up at the Medina Railroad Museum on Wednesday, ready to scrub graffiti off vandalized rail cars.

The rail cars were targeted last week with red paint. A social media post and letter to the editor from a museum volunteer made the public aware of the problem, and a stretched-thin group at the museum that now had to deal with it.

Medina schools are off this week due to spring break right before Easter. One of the graffiti messages referenced a Medina staff member. Teachers value the work from that staff member and wanted to get that message off the rail car, as well as help the museum with the cleanup of the other cars, said Joe Byrne, Medina Teachers’ Association president.

The 26 teachers spent about an hour wiping off the paint on a chilly day with temperatures in the 30s.

“This was something that was senseless and not derserved,” Byrne said about the graffiti. “It was cool to turn a negative thing into a positive.”

He said Medina teachers are committed to service.

“We’re not just people in the classroom,” he said. “”We’re people in the community.”

A train from Genesee Valley Transportation passes by the volunteers while they work on getting rid of the graffiti. Jeff Lewis, Medina Railroad Museum executive director at left, thanks Medina teachers for getting rid of graffiti off railcars on Wednesday afternoon.

AE Washing in Lyndonville provided water and hoses for the cleanup, while the museum had sponges and soft Brillo pads. The teachers showed up with buckets and a gusto to tackle the challenge.

“They did a bang-up job,” said museum executive director Jeff Lewis. “That is the kind of community support we appreciate.”

The museum is often plagued with graffiti and vandalism, including people breaking windows and sometimes sneaking into railcars to spend the night.

“It is an ongoing problem that hopefully will improve,” Lewis said.

Byrne said the experience has better connected teachers to the museum. He envisions having experts from the museum in the schools to discuss the impact of railroads on the local community.

“This could lead to a better partnership at the school,” Byrne said.

Teachers spent about an hour on a cold day cleaning the graffiti off the rail cars.