Oh, how I miss "The Sidetrack" and Mr. Luther Perkins. The Sidetrack was a relatively short-lived hobby shop in Amory, MS back in the early 90's. I'm not sure who owned The Sidetrack, but Luther Perkins was always there and was always friendly and full of advice and tips for me back in my early teens. Later, the Sidetrack moved into a building on Hatley Rd. It was during that time that Mr. Perkins invited me to join an HO club they were starting at that location. Our one big event was that we set up our modular layout at the grand opening of the Walmart super center in Amory. Shortly thereafter, I heard that the Hatley Rd. location burned and everything was lost. To my knowledge, that was the end of The Sidetrack and the last time I saw Mr. Perkins. By coinsidence, Mr. Perkins was from Hamilton, MS, the same town where my wife grew up. She has only good things to say about him. Mr. Perkins passed away years later. I will never forget The Sidetrack, Mr. Perkins, or the time I spent and the knowledge I learned with the men I consider to have been my mentors at the club. Sadly, the closest hobby shops I can find now for Sulligent, AL 35586 are 2 hrs east to B'ham or 2 hours west to Oxford, MS. I don't go to B'ham that often and I've been to Oxford maybe twice in in my life. I'm not going to make a special trip to anywhere that far away since having something shipped is clearly cheaper than the gasoline it takes to get to either city. However, to me, there's just nothing like browsing in a hobby shop whenever I'm in the area. If any knows of any place closer than 2 hrs from Sulligent, AL for HO model train merchandise, please let me know. Ship it on the Frisco. - Brandon
