Louis:
You mentioned the shops at Hannibal, and there have been many recent posts about railroad related smells. I was in high school at Hannibal from the early to mid 60's, and would sometimes volunteer to help either the cheerleaders or the pep squad for Hannibal High School decorate their floats for the annual football homecoming parade. It would take several days to make and set all of the crepe paper flowers, and the Q would let one or both of these groups use the shops to keep the floats out of the weather while the floats were being finished.
I can remember the girls complaining about the smell, but I actually liked the combination of the old railroad smells coupled with the smell of the river. It was kind of an eerie atmosphere, however, as we always worked on the floats in the evening and the shops were poorly lit.
I wish I had taken the time to find out more about what went on in what was left of the shops during those last days. There always seemed to be a Geep or an SD sitting in the shops near the floats with the motor not running. I don't know what kind of mechanical work went on, although I remember the name of Harvey Niemeyer. I think the Mechanical Department had a painter also, Charlie? Easley. Maybe Archie Hayden will remember better than I.
There could have been a flood in '59, I don't remember. The one I remember was the bad flood of '65, the year I graduated. But then, my parents told me that the 1973 and 1993 floods were worse than '65.
Glen Haug
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
From: LZadnichek@aol.com
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:40:01 -0500
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Story POsts
Great bell story. Dad was Hannibal Division Supt. the year of the Great
Flood (can't remember the exact year - maybe 1959?) and I remember the name
Harvey Niemeyer. A fellow Group member who is presently silent (like I was)
has contacted me off-line to reconnect. He and I were school friends in Hannibal
and his father was chief clerk to the master mechanic at the time. My friend
said he would be posting some of his Q memories at an early date and I look
forward to seeing them. At the time we lived in Hannibal, the roundhouse,
portions of the backshop and turntable were still intact. I recently saw an
image taken from Lovers Leap and there's nothing left but a big green field with
the BNSF mainline to St. Louis running alongside the river. Dad's office
was in an ancient coal smoke blackened two story brick building that, as I
recall, even he complained of as being "dirty." I'm glad you brought-up the
subject of the Ladies Auxiliary as this organization is all but forgotten today,
but did so much for the railroad communities they served so long ago. Dad was
always interested in Q history and I remember he would take my mom,
brother and me on Sunday drives to show us where the original H&SJ roadbed
was in the weeds - Louis
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