Family History Comes Home to Ooltewah Whistlestop

Some gifts are more than gifts. They’re pieces of history.

Recently, David Eller — a native of Ooltewah — reached out to us with a story that stopped us in our tracks.

His grandfather, Henry Long, was Southern Railway through and through, serving as line foreman for the track that runs right past the Whistlestop, from Chattanooga to Cohutta. After retiring, Henry Long took on another meaningful job: hauling canvas mail bags from the old Ooltewah Post Office up to the depot, where they would be picked up by passenger trains equipped with mail cars.

For David, those afternoon walks to the depot became part of his childhood — and part of his healing after losing his father at a young age.

David Eller (middle) donates artwork to Ooltewah Whistlestop in celebration of his grandfather Henry Long and his mother Bertha Hague's (left) 91st birthday.

In honor of his grandfather, and in celebration of his mother’s 91st birthday, David created and donated a special print of his grandfather at the Ooltewah Depot with the mail bags.

We are deeply honored to receive it.

Ooltewah Whistlestop exists because this community’s story is worth remembering — the trains, the depot, the families, the work, the grief, the joy, and the memories passed from one generation to the next.

Thank you, David, for sharing such a meaningful piece of your family’s history with us.

Please help us wish David’s mother, Ms. Bertha Hague, a very happy 91st birthday — and help us celebrate the generations of Ooltewah families whose stories still live along these tracks. Soon this symbol of history will be a hanging in our restaurant along with railroad-themed illustrations by a famous 20th Century artist!