LaVerne
The practice of law is very hidebound too. After all,
we believe that you should decide each case the same
way as the last case! But with the respect to the
railroad, their ways worked and that is important.
John
--- LaVerne Andreessen <LWAndreessen@f...>
wrote:
> John
>
> I have a friend (PhD) who is a prolific writer of RR
> history.
> Simply excellent. When he sends something via US
> mail (he refuses
> to use Email!!) he often uses the term "enclosed
> herewith please
> find." I reply that I if it is enclosed, "it
> damned well better
> be with the letter.". If I send him an enclosed
> item, I merely
> state "several 'herewiths' are enclosed."
>
> I had a university colleague who taught shorthand.
> This was 35
> years ago, and he worked with high school business
> teachers. He
> was an absolute whiz at writing shorthand. During
> the Koren War
> he was personal secretary to either General Van
> Fleet or General
> Ridgeway. Anyway, right out of business school, he
> went to work
> for the CNW. He worked (ca. 1950) as the
> stenographer for the
> Divn. Supt. The first day, the Supt. dictated
> several letters. My
> friend had no trouble keeping up, but he found the
> supt's phrasing
> to be "simply atrocious so I cleaned it up a bit."
> The next
> morning, I heard "Hanson, get in here." The supt.
> had a fit. My
> friend had to redo them. At the end of the week,
> the supt. said
> to him "you are not very happy here are you?" My
> friend replied
> "no, with all respect sir, I did not realize the RR
> was as
> backward as it is." After the supt. cooled off, he
> told my
> friend that he would be pleased to give him a good
> reference.
>
> My friend died at age 38 of leukemia, but I still
> laugh when I
> think of his railroad stories. Had he worked longer
> than a week,
> he might have written a comical book relating to RR
> business
> practices. Of course, his telling the stories added
> a great deal
> as he told of several archaic office practices used
> by the RR. He
> thought the RR's were the classic example of a
> business that had a
> difficult time moving out of the past.
>
> To close ca. 1915,
>
> "I remain, your obedient servant . . . . Sincerely,"
>
> LWA
>
>
>
>
> John D. Mitchell, Jr. wrote:
>
> > LaVerne
> >
> > I guess my railroad background has scarred me. I
> still
> > use those phrases in my business letters, yet.
> Come to
> > think of it, I use a lot of railroad business
> > practices, daily. The depot was a pretty good
> training
> > school for an impressionable youth.
> > John
>
>
>
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