>From the little I have read about him, Daniel Willard (1861-1942) was a
phenomenal railroad man. He started on the Central of Vermont as a track
laborer. He then went to work for the Connecticut and Passumpsic River RR as
a fireman and was promoted to locomotive engineer. From 1883 to 1884 he was
a locomotive engineer on the Lake Shore & Southern Michigan. In 1884 he
hired on with the Soo as a brakeman. By 1898 he had advance to the position
of Superintendent and become a protégé of the Soo's General Manager. F D
Underwood. In 1899 he followed his mentor Underwood to the B&O as the
Assistant General Manager. In 1901 he followed Underwood to the Erie. From
1904 to 1910 he was 2nd Vice President in charge of operation and
maintenance on the "Q". He went back to the B&O as President in 1910 and
stayed there until he retired in 1941, at the age of 80. He apparently tried
to retire at age 70, in 1931; but the Board of Directors kept re-electing
him. He died the year following his retirement and was buried in his home
state of Vermont.
I wonder if the quote has anything to do with "been there, done that."
Greg Myers
----- Original Message -----
From: "Virginia Edgar" <vje68@h...>
To: <BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 2:25 PM
Subject: [BRHSlist] re: discipline/Willard
>
> The comments by "Uncle Dan" Willard are a real find!!! One of the many Q
> mgrs who became Presidents of other RR's (in this case the B&O and the
> subject of at least one massive 2 vol. bio that includes his Q career).
> I've often felt that 1 advantage the Q had over its granger competitors in
> addition to ones commonly mentioned, was a better labor-mgt atsmosphere,
> especially after the strikes in the late 19th century. You could always
> tell it, in my opinion anyway, in the demeanor of operating crews and
> passenger train personnel. Waiting for a Zephyr in E. Dbq as a boy one
> could always tell the marked difference between IC and Q men, ditto for
the
> the Milw people across the river. Q employees always waved back at kids,
it
> was 50-50 with the other 2 roads. Not to say there were not nice people
on
> competitors' payrolls nor that all Q people were friendly but their
> corporate culture, as they would say today, was decidedly different just
as
> the Ringlings operated their circus with a different philosophy toward
their
> employees than the competition did in the early 1900's with the same
> results; becoming #1. The Q's pioneering in employee welfare programs was
> another example. Railroading was a tough business in the good old days no
> doubt but some places were a bit easier to work for & with than others.
> When I was with C&NW a fellow Alderman in West Chicago was chairman of the
> BLE local - he often bemoaned the fact to me (knowing of my interest in
the
> Q) that his counterparts on BN (ex-Q) could deal with mgt better than he &
> his C&NW peers could with theirs. I know of a number of Q retirees who
have
> remarked to me how impressed they were that Harry Murphy would remember
> their names when he ran across them in his frequent tours around the Q.
> Ralph Budd was remembered as a bit more reserved but then the 30's & 40's
> were a tough era for any employer/employee.
> Again, those remarks by Willard are a real find! Dick Overton, if he were
> alive, would pounce on them. Gerald Edgar
>
>
>
>
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