MEDINA: A little boy's love for trains lives on

By Nicole Coleman<br><a href="mailto:colemann@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Nicole</a>
The Journal-Register

May 11, 2008 11:51 pm

— The smile on 8-year-old Gary Williams’ freckled face extended from ear to ear in anticipation of what lay ahead — a train ride lead by Thomas the Tank Engine and a few hours of fun exploring the Medina Railroad Museum.
It was an expression much like the one Jimmy Hausler once had.
For those standing in the museum’s depot Saturday afternoon with the memory of his short life fresh in their minds, it was all they could have hoped for.
Money collected from staff members at Jimmy Hausler’s former school, Niagara-Orleans BOCES on Meadow Drive in North Tonawanda, will start an annual fund to provide “Day Out with Thomas” tickets for a family who wouldn’t have been able to attend the event otherwise.
Gary Williams, his parents, Gary and Peggy, and his siblings, Tyler, 12, and Dani Jo, 2, were the first recipients.
“We’re here for Jimmy who was very special — who loved trains,” said Niagara-Orleans BOCES special education teacher Wendy Wright, a single tear rolling down her face. “That’s all he ever talked about.”
“We would like you to ride in his honor.”
A tragic fire at the Hausler’s Ridgeway home in January took the lives of James Hausler, 10, his mother, April Hausler, 31, his sister, Dawn Hausler 7, and his grandmother, Anna Monagan, 56.
When the news reached the BOCES teachers who grew to love Jimmy during the three years he was under their care, they were devastated, Wright said. Immediately, they wanted to do something to keep his memory alive.
They collected well over $100 and decided to use it to give a child, just about Jimmy’s age, the chance to ride Thomas the Tank Engine at the Medina Railroad Museum’s annual event.
Jimmy loved trains — and Thomas — so much that his parents drove him to the closest “Day Out with Thomas” event in Cincinnati for his 7th birthday, said his dad, David Hausler. The next year, when the event started right in Jimmy’s hometown of Medina, he was thrilled beyond belief.
Wright remembers Jimmy as “one of those kids everyone fell in love with,” she said. Diagnosed with autism, his parents took an active role in his education, making the drive to Tonawanda for every meeting, concert or activity.
Letters between April Hausler and her son’s teachers were frequent. Following the fire, Wendy Wright discovered a folder filled with April’s correspondence.
The fire has left Jimmy’s remaining family members reeling from the loss. His grandfather, James Monagan, 57, and his cousin, Donald Monagan, 14, were sleeping in the home the night of the fire, but were able to escape.
David Hausler, a truck driver, was eight hours away when he received a phone call from law enforcement that his home was on fire and he needed to return immediately. They wouldn’t say whether or not his family was OK, David said.
Since that time, the community has rallied together in support of David Hausler and his father-in-law.
“I didn’t realize their actions affected so many people,” David said Saturday.
The family chosen by the American Red Cross to receive Day Out with Thomas tickets for Medina’s weekend event recently experienced their own house fire, said Administrative Assistant Darla McGill. Thankfully, the damage was contained to a single bedroom and the entire family emerged safely.
In the aftermath, they are still working to get back on their feet, McGill said. They are renting a second place to live while their home is being repaired.
To allow the entire Williams family to ride together, the BOCES program donated three tickets and the Medina Railroad Museum graciously donated the other two.
“They’ve never been on (a train),” Peggy Williams said before boarding, her shy 8-year-old tugging at her leg. “I appreciate my kids going, but I wish it were him instead.”
The hope of Wendy Wright and David Hausler is that the living memorial will become a tradition. A plaque with Jimmy’s name and picture will soon find its way to the Medina Railroad Museum’s walls, and a Jimmy Hausler Day Out with Thomas Memorial Fund has been set up through the American Red Cross in Orleans County, 421 Main St., Medina.
“(It is) to let somebody else enjoy a train ride like Jimmy did,” Wright said. “We’ll let it grow and perpetuate.”
Contact reporter Nicole Colemanat 798-1400, ext. 2227.

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