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Re: [CBQ] Further To CB&Q Clerk

To: "CBQ@yahoogroups.com" <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Further To CB&Q Clerk
From: "John D. Mitchell, Jr." <cbqrr47@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2014 18:29:32 -0800 (PST)
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My mother was one of those female clerks in a male world (MPRR) and please 
believe me, she could give as good as she got. She was 5'10" and over 200 
pounds. You couldn't intimidate her with a shotgun! I learned a lot about 
railroads, railroaders and railroading from her. My maternal grandfather and 
two maternal uncles (all MOP men) helped too, but they couldn't keep me from 
being a Q and IC fan. Oh ok, I like the MOP, a little bit, too but they 
dieselized first. 



On Sunday, March 2, 2014 8:01 PM, archie hayden <klinerarch@charter.net> wrote:
  
  
Louis  Thanks for sharing with Mr Currie who I might add would be a welcome 
member for our group.  The female clerks working in a man's word as it was back 
then were subject to lots of ribbing and kidding.  The ones who lasted could 
dish it right back or at least grin and bear it.  Archie

On Mar 2, 2014, at 3:26 PM, LZadnichek@aol.com wrote:

March 2, 2014 
>
>I shared Archie's earlier post about Elsie Morsch with family friend Earl J. 
>Currie who sent me the following reply. Earl started his railroad career in 
>the mid-1960s on the Q's Chicago Division and rose through the ranks to retire 
>as a BN vice president. Earl gave me his permission to post his reply on this 
>List. Some of you may remember Earl from Lines West when he was BN division 
>superintendent at Lincoln at about the time when many of the BMR/Q branch 
>lines were being either abandoned or cut-back. Earl is interested in joining 
>this List and I think his operating department memories of the Q's last years 
>and its employees will be valuable history to preserve. 
>
>Louis Zadnichek II 
>Fairhope, AL  
>
>
>
>>
>>
>>
>>Louis,
>
>>
>>Yes, I knew Elsie very well.  On my first day as Trainmaster Aurora,   she 
>>came to work for me (also her first day in Aurora) as a combination   
>>secretary/personnel clerk.  It was a new job established on that day to   
>>give me a hand with all the paperwork involved in hiring new Brakemen, which  
>> we were desperately short of in those years, due to the draft for the Viet 
>>Nam   War taking so many people, plus our wages not being competitive at that 
>>time   with those paid by the big factories in the area.   . 
>>We hired literally dozens of people in a short time. 
>
>>
>>Elsie was a hard worker, very loyal and conscientious.  Her   previous job 
>>had been in the office at the Clyde Diesel Shop.  
>
>>
>>I was transferred out of Aurora in a few months but returned in a year or   
>>so as Asst. Supt.  During that time she married Jimmie Morsch, a   Brakeman.  
>>I can't remember if he still had his Conductor's rights at   that time, or 
>>had given them up so he could work a regular job as a Brakeman   or Collector 
>>on the dinkies or other passenger jobs.
>
>>
>>Elsie was a fine person, and it is wonderful of her to have taken time to   
>>write these memoirs of her early days on the railroad.  I wonder what job   
>>she was working at the time she retired.
>
>>
>>Van Nortwick was a classic, old school mechanical officer.  After he   set me 
>>straight on how he did railroad business, Van and I got along   well.  At 
>>first, he would not even recognize that people on such   lowly positions as 
>>Trainmaster even existed.   
>
>>
>>Like so many loyal old-timers, Van was not enthralled with the   merger.  In 
>>the early 1970's an officer of the former GN was sent to   Chicago to be on 
>>Van's staff.  Van never even spoke to him for the first   six months.  At 
>>that time, they had a big run-in on some routine   mechanical matter which 
>>forced Van to talk to him. even though he had no use   for the GN guy.  With 
>>that interaction, they came to understand each   other,and they got along 
>>well after that.  The GN guy (Tom Kotnour)   became the System CMO-Cars in 
>>later years.     
>
>>
>>Thanks for passing this item along. 
>>
>
>>
>>Earl
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>>From: LZadnichek@aol.com
>>To: ejcurrie@comcast.net
>>Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2014 10:24:53   AM
>>Subject: CB&Q Clerk
>>
>>
>>February 27, 2014 
>>
>>Earl - Do you remember Elsie Morsch who was hired on in the mid-1960s as   
>>clerk to J.R. VanNortwick, master mechanic, Chicago Division? Good   
>>recollection from her below about Mr. VanNortwick who was good friends with 
>>my   Dad. Best Regards - Louis 
>>
>>
>>>________________________________
>>>
From: klinerarch@charter.net
>>>To: lzadnichek@aol.com
>>>Sent: 2/26/2014     4:44:51 P.M. Central Standard Time
>>>Subj: CB&Q clerk
>>> 
>>>Louis,  Hope you enjoy this letter from Elsie Morsch     written to her  
>>>fellow employees when she retired in November of     2003.  I can relate  
>>>to this era of railroading as I am sure     you too had a close look at  
>>>it.  Best Archie
>>>
>>><ElsieQclerk_NEW.jpg>
 
 
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