Hi Pete,
I remember reading the stories by Harry Bedwell of "Eddie Sand" and
the others in the old "Railroad" magazine. It's editor, Freeman
Hubbard thought the world of Harry Bedwell, and reprinted many of
Bedwell's short stories in "Railroad", long after he had passed
away. I wasn't into railroad fiction much in those days, but reading
Harry's interesting tales certainly changed that for me.
Verne Brummel,
Fitchburg,WI
>
> Doug Harding..
>
> For shame...for shame...for shame. You lived in Kellerton and
don't know
> who Harry Bedwell was...
>
> Harry, as dubbed by Frank Donovan in his biography was "The last
of the
> great railroad story tellers"...He's my all time favorite railroad
fiction
> writer. I quote from the introduction to Donovan's book.
>
> " Harry Bedwell chronicled in one book and some 70 short stories
and
> articles the actions and reaction of railroad men faced with the
unexpected. He was
> himself a railroad man with wide and varied experience in that
most
> versatile of all railroad occupations, that of station agent and
telegrapher.
>
> Harry "drew" the finest word pictures of any writer I've ever
read...ie
> "Indian summer had come to the prairies, and a tranquil hush was
on that bright
> land. River smells floated through the trees. The air was like
fragile silk"
> Sounds like Willa Cather...but it's Bedwell.
>
> Eddie Sand, boomer telegrapher, appeared in nearly all of Harry's
> stories...Other notable characters were Hi Wheeler, Bricks Lemon,
Scrap Iron Hawkins,
> Trainmaster "Clinker" Ward, old Salt and Molasses Nickerson, Buck
Barabe,
> Double Drop Brill
>
> Here's one of my favorites of Harry's word pictures: "Little old
battered,
> telegraph stations under the eternal frown of dark peaks, with
Moguls
> stamping solemnly on the grade. Headlights along the glittering
ribbon of steel
> crowded close under the bluffs, with the river smells heavy in
the night. The
> restless lights and ceaseless turmoil of great terminal yards.
Lonely tricks
> at the tag end of night, when the stars died quietly and the
gallant
> challenge of a hotshot was flung across the prairies to salute
the dawn."
>
> Harry's one novel..THE BOOMER is still available..I got a copy
through
> Bookfinder.com
> His biography HARRY BEDWELL, Last of the great railroad story
tellers by
> Frank P. Donovan 1959 is usually available from the same source.
>
> Donovan mentions a visit with Bedwell's cousin Florence Whitson
in
> Kellerton..this would have been in the late 50's.
>
> Harry Bedwell was born about 1988 (I can't find the exact
year)..died in
> 1955.
>
> Having lived in Kellerton you need to pick up Donovan's biography
and
> Bedwell's own THE BOOMER.
>
> Now aren't you glad you inquired.??
>
> Pete
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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