Pete
I knew Albert Way and I knew Jack Hamer very well.
Jack was one of the finest gentlemen, I ever met and
was a top notch railroad official. He talked to
section men just he talked to the other officals. He
knew how the railroad worked and he knew that
railroaders made it work! I knew G.L. Griggs Jr., too.
He was known as "Louis" and his father was known as
"George". Louis was a track man, for sure. He had been
roadmaster at Centralia and Beardstown and Ass't
Engineer, Track at Galesburg and I think at
Beardstown, as well. I also met R.B Batty, one time
when he was Fuel Traffic Manager.
John
--- PSHedgpeth@a... wrote:
> The Lincoln Railfan's Monthly Newsletter carries a
> FIFTY YEARS AGO column.
>
> Here's a portion of it: "The March 2nd Star (now
> Lincoln Journal Star..daily
> paper) reported another shuffling of Burlington
> Officialdom. L.L. Smith,
> General Superintendent in Lincoln, announced G.L.
> Griggs (Jr) assistant
> Superintendent in Wymore since 1952 would become
> assistant superintendent in
> Lincoln, succeeding J.E.Hamer, who took a similar
> post in Centrailia, Ill.
> H.A. Benedetto, assistant to the general manager in
> Omaha, would become
> superintendent of the St. Joseph Division,
> succeeding A.R. Harris, who'd be
> the new superintendent at Alliance. A.E. Way,
> assistant superintendent at
> Centralia, would become assistant to the general
> manager in Omaha. E.R.
> Shrader, Alliance and Sterling Divisions
> superintendent, would lead the
> Hdannibal Division."
>
> You know you are really getting "past prime" when
> you know every name in the
> fifty year ago columns and none in current news.
>
> G.L. Griggs (Jr) was Asst. Supt. for the Lincoln
> Division when I hired out
> here summer 1956....My grandfather knew both him and
> his father G.L. Griggs
> Sr. (See photo at bottom of page 36, BB 35 showing
> both men...G.L. Jr. was a
> Roadmaster and G.L. Sr was Division Supt...no rule
> against nepotism in those
> days...)..My GF took me to the Supt's office here in
> Lincoln, introduced me
> to G.L. Jr and arranged for me to be hired as a
> brakeman that summer. G.L.
> (Jr.) retired on disability (I heard that there was
> a little more to it than
> that) about a year later. I last saw him in
> Alliance NE summer 1957 when my
> GF and I were making a trip to Sheridan WY. Jr. was
> living with his father in
> law...Fred Harris, who was a banker of some note in
> Alliance.
>
> L.L. (Silent) Smith was also a friend of my GF....I
> never met him, but heard
> lots of stories about him. J.E. Hamer is a very
> familiar name...H. A.
> Benedetto (mentioned by Leo in some of his BRT
> tales) was Supt. at St. Joe
> summer 1953 when No. 72 rear ended local extra at
> Corning, MO. I have color
> movies of Henry strolling around the wreck scene
> complete with official
> attire of the day.....white shirt, hat and
> cigar...he also possessed the ever
> present protruding stomach of most operating
> officials. A.R. Harris, A.E.
> Way and E.R. Shrader were all Supts at St. Joe
> during my growing up years....
>
> John M...did you know Griggs, Sr. or Jr.???
>
> Also in perusing BB 35, and the section on the Coal
> Traffic Department....I
> see some familiar names, but I don't see R.B.
> Battey, who, seems to me was
> Coal Traffic Manager at some time within my
> memory....I remember once being
> in Chicago with my GF and Battey taking us to lunch
> in one of the Union
> Station Restaurants...He was a very "portly" man as
> I recall...His brother
> C.Wheaton Battey was president of one of the banks
> here in Lincoln at one
> time.
>
> Pete
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>
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