What do line dancing and heavy metal have in common? The answer is the Train Station, a music venue established last year in Corbin, Kentucky. The family-friendly venue is run by a veteran nonprofit, but truly has something for everyone.
Michelle Eidschun leads the two initiatives inspired by her family’s military experiences. Thomas Eidschun, Michelle’s husband, is a retired US Army Sergeant Major who suffers from the effects of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) sustained over points of his military service, which led him on 52 missions in 27 countries, and 180 official airborne jumps. Toward the end of his career, they spent three years advocating for Tom’s health at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. At some point in those years, Michelle was finally able to convince Tom to attend pottery classes with her. In one of these classes, something clicked for Tom who had become increasingly withdrawn.
“When you get vets together and working with their hands, whether it be pottery, metal forging, or something else, walls come down. They are with their peers who walked similar paths and use the same language as them… there’s a moment in time where healing can take place,” Michelle explained. “They can just be themselves.”
In 2017, the couple researched places all over the country to settle down. They knew they wanted to raise awareness about veteran health in their retirement. In looking at 10 different states, they ultimately chose Corbin and Kentucky as their forever home and the place they could build something to give back to their military community.
They purchased 150 acres and initially drew up plans to build a retreat for wounded veterans. Though that is still part of their plan, another opportunity surfaced when Felts Music Place, a longtime music venue in Corbin, was shutting down.
Michelle, a musician who also has a background in restaurant management, had fallen in love with the space.
“It was built for music by musicians themselves. The room holds sound and voices beautifully.”
Owned by the Felts family for years, it was about to be sold for boat storage for the nearby lake. Michelle couldn’t bear to see Corbin lose such a magical space that brought community together for over 30 years.
The Eidschuns decided to lease the space from the new building owner, opening it up as The Train Station. They put on events and workshops to generate a source of income for Resilient Knights, the nonprofit wing of their initiative to serve veterans with a variety of services. Their first show was in October 2023. Since then, they have hosted twice weekly line dancing classes, karaoke, comedy nights, class reunions, songwriter contests, art therapy classes for veterans, like wood carving, as well as peer support meetings, and more. They even had a “mom prom” for local mothers to have a night out, where attendees were crowned with awards like ugliest dress, tallest hair and best cat eye.
Everything at the Train Station, from concessions to the sound booth to the gift shop, is run by veterans. Right now, Michelle and Tom have six veterans who live with them on their property and more that they support by connecting them to a variety of resources.
“Our mission is to provide veterans with a new purpose and a new team. That’s what the military gives its service members, and that’s what we hope to recreate for them.”
Most recently, they hosted a reading of Boxes, a community play depicting veterans, post traumatic stress, and caregiver burnout.
Please follow along and support their journey at Resilient Knights and the Train Station on social media or via their website.
