February, 1926 ~~~~ EMPLQ%S'MWZINE Page 19

Frisco Apprentice School Important Position as Shop Adjunct

From Eight in 1920 Class Has Grown to Fijty-All Phases of Mechanical Practice Taught-More Interest Each Month

INCE September, 1923, When the for first, secohd and third class em- s need arose for an apprentice ployes. The apprentice has studies nohnnl and tho pohnnf m o m netoh- whinh wil l bann him hrrav Pnv Pnqr

p 'VUUUUY Y.U...Yam Y.c&YU 1- C Y U Y Y

prentice school a t Springfleld. Mo., and to the trained eye they prove con- clusively that the apprentice boys under the leadership of Mr. Pullar are receiving first-class training and in- struction.

Starting from a class.of eight, which met in a garage, with only wooden benches for equipment, the school has grown until in 1924, thirty students received a diploma, and this meant that they made a grade of 85% and attended classes two-thirds of the time. The class numbered flfty add, but a number found it impossible to attend the required amount of time, however these students are again en- roiled in the 1925 class, determined that they shall recelve thefr diplomas.

There is a short mechanical course

ceives additional ' Instr'uction and Is able t4 fully discuss his progress.

"Every month more interest .is taken in our apprentice school. The boys who attend are eager and anxious to learn and they progress rapidly. Every one of them is sincere in hia praise of the course a s presented on the FrIsco Lines, and every year i t has been necessary to make room for more students," .Mr. Pullar re- marked.

I r n left lo right, front row: 'George Fitch, arl Obnlahder; Kenneth . G. Frietad, Harold Roy'Pwtnran, Art E. .Haler , G. B:Hasler;

!. Mack, Clark Ralstofi, W . L., Trifilett, E; rion, Bruce E. Balond, Joe Schellhardt, and . , . .

..UU.., "YY U U V Y Y l L l Y U Y C ." ."yY..~d to attend two nlghts a week, either on Monday and Thursday, or on Tues- day and Friday from 7 until 9 p. m.

Mechanical drawing. boiler and sheet metal laying out work, blue- print reading, arithmetic, slotter, planer, lathe boring and milling ma- chine work, laying off shoes and wedges, valve motion and car work are among the subjects taught.

It is the desire of every apprentice to fit himself for a first-class position. Mr. Pullar learne from the apprentice his particular work in the shop, and then assigns him lessons which will aid him in performing hi9 work in a more efticient manner. This gives the apprentice the advan tage of work- fng in the daytime on Ria partfcuIar work, and two nights 8 week he re-

Many of the employes ot the Frieco Lines who are taking correspondence school courses are urged by that school to use their lessons in the Frisco apprentice school.

Through Mr. Pullar the apprentices wish to express their appreciation of the advantage given them by the of- flcials of the Frisco System In main- taining and sponsoring this school, which enables them to advance in their profession. and in return, give to the railroad company trained and efficient workers.

A Basket B The Frisco west

Mo., announce a ball team, made up shop roster.

M. McCaullay fa &nnoRnces that they are ready to meet any other team on the Frisco Lines at any time.

all Challenge sham a t SpringtieId, well trained basket I of members of that

their manager and

Frisco Will Spend $21,000,000 for DEP'T NAME CHANGED

Imnrnv~rn~nte srrJ F n r r ; n m m . n t 1 Q ?A "Safe ty First*' Becomes "Acciden t ****y*-. U * . A U A A ~ U U A A U L a y U A y A A A b I 1 C 111 1 / LIV eventio ion D e p a r t m e n t " W i t h 1926

Ten and Half Million for New Equipment and - - -. . . ~

for Ne-- - ----, -. --- ,.., . ,..,.....,..,, --JW-3 - Definite

N E of the most extensive and comprehensive yearly budgeta O ever authorized tor the Frisco

Lines, will be underlaken during 1926, President Kurn announced on Janu- ary 15.

A total of $21,000,000 will be ex- pended for improvements and new equipment.

The budget is equally divided be- tween new equipment and Zmprove- ment i n t h e Frisco's nine s tate terri- tory and along its 5.400 miles of track. The improvement part of the budget calls for one hundred seventy- four miles of new 100-pound rail, in Missouri, Kansas and Alabama. The 100-pound rail will be laid in double track between Tower Grove and Paci- Ac, Mo.. and in single track between Pacific and St. Clair. a total of 81.2 miles. This rail replaces 90-pound steel. Thirty-six miles of 100-pound rail will be laid in track between Jas- per and Pra t t City, Alabama, and flfty- seven miles in double track territory between Paola, Kansas and Kansas City. Mo.

The permanent bridge program of the road received particular attention and a n appropriation of $1,604,000 was made for concrete, pipe, arches and culverts.

A determined effort toward the elim- ination of accidents is evidenced in the appropriation of $157,000 for viaducts, subways, grade crossings and crossing signals. An appropriation of $359,000 was also voted for the installation of train control devices between Afton, Okla., and Monett, Mo., a distance of sixty-six miles and for the installation of interlocking towers a t seven loca- tions.

l mprove Road's Capacity fl

Yard sidings, passlng tracks and other trackage which will lmprove t h e capacity of the road, was included in

the budget for $1,363,000; shop build- 3ngs $210,000; freight and passenger depots. $592,000; new rail and fasten- ings, $2,406,000; w a t e r stations, $215,000, and $109,000 waa approprl- ated for making necessary changes in grade and alignment between St. Louis and Springfield.

Twenty-five new locomotives, ten passenger and fifteen freight; four thousand new box, automobile and gondola cars and fourteen new passen- ger coaches will be delivered to the Frisco Lines in 1926 a t a total, cost of approximately $10,500,000, the budget states.

Twenty-five hundred. 60 ton single sheath box cars, one thousand. 50 ton auto cars, five hundred. 55 ton flat bottom gondola cars a re incIuded in the four thousand car total. The fif- teen Mikado freight locomotives will cost $75,000 each, while the ten Moun- tain type passenger locomotives come to a trifle over $69,000.00.

Extensive Shop Work In addition to the new equipment

orders, $1,090,000 will be expended lor improvement to present Frisco equip- ment and $1,650,000 will be spent in building new equipment in the shops owned and operated by the Frisco Lines.

"The 1926 Improvement and equip- ment program wilt be gotten under way immediately", President Kurn said, "and we will direct our efforts to improving the already splendid condi- tion of our lines. Our new equipment, together with t h e equipment we will build and improve in our own shops will give the Frisco Llnes, per mile of Itrack, as complete and well-condi- tioned equipment a8 any railroad in the west. We made a splendid record in 1925, and we a re entering 1926 with a feeling of confldence and security."

T HE "Safety First" Department of the St. Louis-San Francisco Rail- way Company, no longer exists.

I t has been done away with under the pressure of forward-looking times.

With the New Year, the Safety De- partment became the "Accident Pre- vention Department", with a specific purpose to cut down the number of ac- cidents to employes working in the many departments throughout the Frisco system.

H. W. Hudgen,'director of the Acci- dent Prevention Department and for- mer head of the Safety Department has definite reasons for the change.

"The slogan 'Safety First', has be- come a little timeworn", he says. "Further, i t implies a little too much. I t is elastic enough to permit of more than one interpretation and we do not want our people t o feel that we place safety ahead of honesty, loyalty or in- tegrity o r true heroism in the perform- ance of their duties.

" 'Safety First* in the anal analysla, means prevention of accidents and we have chosen the more direct term. The greatest part of our work i s along that line and in the future our meet- ings will be accident prevention meet- ings. We will have accident oreven- tion committees appointed along our lines and a firm structure will be maintained in continuing our work of preventing mishaps to our employes!'

2. B. Cfaypool, safety supervisor, who has been with the Safety First Department, has been appointed assist- a n t director of the Accident Preven- tion Department. J. W. Morrill and Harry Harrison. also former Frisco en- gineers with years of experience, have been appointed Accident Prevention agents in company with C. C. Mills, veteran conductor.

MERAMEC HIGHLANDS SOLD Bixby-Smith. Inc., P u r c h a s e Fa-

m o u s F r i s c o R e s o r t f o r $350.000

Popular Vacation Ground Near St. Louis Will Be Improved and

Restricted

IXBY-SMITH, INC., real estate dealers of St. Louis, have pur- chased W acres in Meralnec

Highlands, a small summer resort on the Frisco Llnes, fourteen miles from St. Louis, a t a price of $350.000, it was announced recently. Their intention is to make over the grounds, marking off plots for the erection of restricted

residences. A magnificent club house and golf course is also contemplated.

I t is interesting to recall a bit of history concerning Meramec High- lands. The original name was Almont, and the original owners, Arthur Mit- tleberg and J. D. Houseman, of St. Louis.

They purchased 153 acres or farm land a t $50.00 a n acre from one Jack Johnson in the early 90's with a vision of a summer resort. Later the land was sold for $200.00 a n acre to Marcus Bernheimer and Dr. Tuholske, of St. Louis. This Anal sale price of $350,000 is a n indication of the tremendous ad- vance in price In recent years.

The present owners, Bixby-Smith, Inc., have offered a prize of $500.00 for

a suitable new name for Meramec Highlands. T h e contest will end the first of this month.

Mrs. Dalla Snyder has been the Frisco agent a t "The Highlands" for eleven years. "This new management and new ownership of the Highlands will h s u r e i ts being turned into a charming resort. The work of cleaning up the ground has already begun, and summer will flnd i t a paradise of ef- ficient landscape gardening," she re- marked.

The Frisco has served Meramec Highlands rot many years, and with the new interests beautifying the little tract, i t Is expected to be one of the most attractive resorts on the Frisco Lines.

4LENTED FRZSCO MISS

This IIozel Agerr t Tenn.

She nccollr~ costwit pcnred phis. .,-

charming young lndy is Miss Inrboden, daughter o f Commercial

Edwin lmboden of Memphis,

is o talenrsd d o dancer and the ianging pictwe shows hev i n the e worn r ~ ~ e n f r y when she ap- brforc the Lions Club o f 34e~rt-

III rss Intbodre fi1E.s xrinrerotrs cngnge- rgankations 'etnand.

Made via .ry 7

H. C. Cole risco, Mo.

the largest 7er shipped

mom tne mlaale west, lert Chester, Ill. on January 6, from the plant of t h e H. C. Cole Mflling Company of that city. The train consisted of seventy- five cars and was routed Missouri Pa- cific to Memphis, Frisco Lines from Memphis t o Birmlngham, and Central of Georgia from Birmingham to At- lanta.

The train, Bnown a s the "Omega Special", contained 16,046 barrels packed In 163,144 packages and weighed 3,084,309 pounds.

If all the flour was used for biscuits. 61.686,180 of the fluffy delicacies for which "Omega" is lamous, could be made.

The H. C. Cole company is one of the oldest in existence. I t was started 87 years ago, was destroyed by fire in 1915, and completely rebuilt with mod- ern machinery installation by master engineers.

Remarkable time in handling the shipment from Memphis to Birming- ham was made by Frisco Lines.

Thirty-elght cars were delivered t o

Page 21

Woman Telegraph Operator at Kansas City, Ma, Relates Experiences

Miss Kate Waidelich, for Twenty-nine Years Agent and Operator, Has Seen Many Railroading Changes

M OST of the stories, comparing practice of years ago and the modern methods of railroading

have come Irom the male members of the Frisco family.

In Kansas City, Mo., however, there is a telegraph operator, Miss Kate Waidelich, who has been in the serv- ice of the Frisco for twenty-nine years, in that capacity, and she can give yon an apt and interesting comparison of the road when she first started her service in March, 1896, and the present day.

She has successfully held the posi- tion of agent-operator a t various sta- tions on the Frisco Lines during those years and now i s filling the position of operator on the night shift a t Kansas City, Mo., in the office of the Superin- tendent.

Her parents moved from Texas to Ft. Scott, Kansas, where she received most of her education, when she was a young girl. She attended a business college and acquired her training a s an operator. Her first position was a t Dennis, Texas, working for the K. C. F. S. & M. She has held the posltlon of agent and operator a t the stations or Bois d'Arc, Mo., Bonita, Okla., Ham- mon, Kans., Lackman Station, ICans., Rosedale, Kans., Paolzb, Kans., and Kansas City, Mo.

Few Modern Devices When she began her career, there

were few, if any. modern devices. "There were no telephones, and we

had what was known a s the Manuel Block System, which most of the older members of the Frisco family recall. There were a great number of agents in those days, because the orders for trains could not be telephoned, but were relayed. Stations were as close as four and five miles. On single track, if we received a message that a train was coming Prom the north, we blocked everything else, to give it the right of way", and she smilingly turned to give one of the engineers who had come in, his order.

"Were there many women agents a t that time", she was asked.

"Oh, yes, a great many more than there a re now. And, when I was agent I had everything to do, climb semaphore poles to put the signal lights up, gather the mail, give train orders. sell tickets, settle claims, and even haul ' around the baggage", she said.

us a t Memphis at 10:3b o'clock the morning of January 7, left MemphIa a t 12:15 in the afternoon, and arrived a t Birmingham a t 3:00 a. m., January 8.

To glance a t Miss Waidelich, one could never imagine her in the role of agent-operator a t a small outlying sta- tion. Perhaps it is her charming femininity and her young face, topped with a head of grey-white hair, that leails one to wonder just why she chose this profession.

"Do you notice any changes-some more astonishing than the rest, En rail- road worlr", she was asked.

Many Changes With the Years "Yes-the most astonishing change

has been in the power, the length and uumber of trains. The old 90's used to run on the High Line and when they would come rushlng down the track, I used to stand and watch them and think that they were the biggest and finest engines that ever could be built. You could put one of them in the oil tank of the 1500's now, almost. They used to be used on the long runs."

Her work a s telegraph operator in the Kansas City office consists of giv- ing engineers their running orders on height trains, as only the freight trains are handled from that yard, and she receives the lineup from the dis- patcher. She is given all information on the train after ft is made up, and this information she wires to the Superintendent of Transportation a t Springfield, Mo., covering every car in the train. Thls is all required before midnight. She has many other duties which she attends to with the same efficiency a s she has done for many years. Her shift is from 6:00 P. M. until 12: 00 Midnight.

She was asked if she ever got frightened working alone late a t night.

"Oh, no", she said promptly. "The engineers and call boy are always running in, and, well-I just never have been afraid."

Railroad worlr to her is quite as fas- cinating a s it is to the engineer on the road, and she says she likes It w w . just a s much a s she ever did. A t times she has thought of choosing an- other profession, but the call to s tay has been too strong and she is still with the Frisco.

She plans to attend the Veterans' Reunion in the summer, and it will be the- f i r s t one she has ever attended, although she is one of the few women on the Frisco railroad with sufficient service to become a member.

Little Archie: "Gee, pop, I just swal- lowed a worm!"

Anxious Father: "Take a drink of Water, quick! and wash i t down."

Little Archie: "Aw, now, let him walk."

February, 1926

HOLD UP AT KANSAS CITY Crops From C bzarks Over Frisco in 1 925

h e of $35,278,000, nglish Reports

Had Va

t - ~ I S C O I lcuer Agsnrs wllsan anu w a n Forced to Floor While Ban-

dit Helps Self Supertlisor of Agri of Growers in

'culture Lauds Co-Operatioe Influence Shipping 16,736 Cars-Increase .25 Per Cent Ooer 1924 T HE bold bandits these days play

no favorites, and while compara- tivery few stations or officea of

the Frisco haae been the target for a HAT region of the mi known a s the "Ozarks' T ' prising approximately

square miles in Missouri a sas, enloyed an unprecedent agricultural prosperity durin cording to statistics made PI by W. L. English, supervis' culture and refrigeration f~ Luis -San Francisco Rail1 pany. The Frisco operate mately 2,000 miles of its 5,41 line in the Ozark territor rails serve almost all of th points.

A grand total of 16,736 cz cultural products traveled Ozark territory via Frisco I markets of the world during

lddle west ' and com-

6 0 . 0 0 0 nd Atkan- ed year of 1g 1925, ac- ~ b l i c today or, of agrt- or the St. vay Com- a approri- DO mlles of y and its e shipping

previous year, and netted $359,100 to the growers.

A remarkable showing waa made in strawberries, one of the principal Ozark crops in this day of Intelligent cultivation.

A total of 1,584 cars of this fruit was shipped, an compared with 1,003 cars in 1924, and a t an increased mar- ket price, brought $3,000,000. The strawberry business has been a large one in the Ozarks in the last few years, and English estimated the 1926 crop a t more than 2,500 cars.

The poultry industry gave a splendid account of itself for 1925, and the rec- ord shows shipments of 2,459 cars of eggs, with a total value of $10.819.600. In 1924 the value of 1,706 cars waP $7,- 506,400. The pronounced increase in egg shipments has come since 1921, English states.

Live and dressed poultry shipments totaled 1,789 cars and earned the chicken raisers $8,830,100, while @ h i p inents of butter came to 787 cars, val- ned a t $7,083,000, a n increase of almost a million dollars over 1924.

Watermelon and cantaloupes brought splendid returns 311 1925. The Frisca shipped 594 carIoads of them In 1924, and this amount was almost trebled in 1925, when 1,945 cara traveled via the Frisco. The value of the 1925 crop of watermelons a n d canteloupes I s laced a t $524.350 a s c o m ~ a r e d with

holdup scene, a most daring one oc- curred on December 23, 1925, when the downtown ticket offlce a t Kansas City. Mo., was robbed.

It was during the last of the . . . - -. . - -

Christmas r u sh, and in the early morning a t about 8 : 30 nklock when - -. - - - - - - -

people hurried t o w o r k a n d t o shops, a youthful bandit, carrying a blue steel revol- ver in his right hand and using his left hand t o ' cover the lower part of his face a s a mask, enter- ed the office.

irs of agri- from the

-ails to the : 1925, rep- of $35,728,- resenting a market value I

050.00. 2d a n in- 90, or 20.25 13.697 cars veled from

The shipment constitute crease In money of $6,017,11 per cent over 1924, when representing $29,710,860 t ra the Ozarks over the Frisco

In two crops, peaches ar decrease was recorded, dc and drouth, but gains wer almost every other.

Forty-four hundred cars brought $2,860,000, and the 458 cars of cantaloupe: $297,000 for their shipment!

The 4 4 2 cars of grapes. c an increase of 194 cars brought $287,300, a s compar 200 last year.

"There a r e 15,000 acres o the Ozark territory now", E port states. "When the 7 ... ̂ .-...-..,., +.. "h:* Cn,... n,

F. W. WILSON

P. W. Wilson, city ticket agent had opened the office a t 8:20 o'clock and locked the door after entering. About ten minutes later, Wllson's assistant, Charles Graff, arrived and left the door unlocked, since it was the regular opening time of the offlce. Wilson and Graff opened the safe and started to prepare currency and checks for de- posit. Their backs were to the ticket count

Bul tered rival

id pears, a le to frost e made in

of apples owners of

s realized 3.

ronstituting over 1924, ,ed to $161,-

or. t this youthful bandit had en- , noiselessly, shortly after the ar- of Mr. Graff and both men turned

hastily a t : h e command of. Put

- - ~ ~-

$245,750 in '1924. "Considered from all i t s angles. 1925

was the most prosperous year from an agricultural standpoint the Ozark ter- ritory ever experienced", the report

r grapes in hglish's re- fines bear,

n e C A ~ C L L LV Duly NU, V A ' five thou- Grape acreage has

Iously in the last few

u p y o u r hands, both of you, o r 1'11 blow yon full of holes". After another command for them to lie face down, the b a n d i t walked around the coun- ter and seized a stack of currency of fives, tens and twenties, amount- inn t o a ~ ~ r o x i -

concludes. "The efforts of our agrlculturat and

horticnltnral departments in building increased production and promoting better farming methods met. with a gratifying reception on the part of the Ozark growers and the co-operation produced remarkable results."

sand cars a year. increased tremend years."

An increased a1 toes sent 798 car 1925 a s compare(

creage of lrish pota- s over the Frisco in I with 460 cars the

Elegies for 1926 Ls. E. GRAFF mite1y $1,064. An-

other s t a c k of CHA

mom tot a1

Th he I< close feet

Th hend

: here one William the bell, but had no ews. rove Allie Pidd; he n't skid, but did.?

Here h e deeps, one Johnny Fonker; he rounded a turn without a honker.- Scranton Scrantonian.

Down in the creek sleeps Jerry Bass; the bridge was narrow; h e tried to pass.-Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader.

Beneath this stone sleeps William Raines: Ice on the hill; he had no chains.-Harrisburg Telegraph.

Lies slumberinl Lake; he heard ,

brake.-Detroit N At 50 miles d

thought he would Rome Times.

At 90 miles d the motor stoppe -Little Falls Tin

?y and checks was overlooked, ing several hundred dollars. en, as qufetIy a s he had entered, ?ft, and upon hearing the door !, Wilson and Graff got to their and gave the alarm. le bandit has not been appre- ed.

rove Eddie Shawn; d, bat "Ed" kept on. nes.

Arthur Mittelberg, " King of Commuters" Has Ridden 309,000 Miles

on Frisco Trains

St. Louis Realtor Spent $6,000, and 15,288 Hours During 45 Years from Wcbster Groues to Ofice

Hats Off to tt I hoId no brief

pay full fare and note what a popul, lambasting the rail

Why? I've spent a t lea

week on the road s ber and had to mi connections.

Never once have that time. Througn wmcer aiurm and spring freshets on time we al- ways were.

I a te a s fine meals in diners a s I could get in the best hotels a t prices a good deal less.

I atept in clean, comfortabIe beds a t prices less than a good hotel.

I never received a sharp, cross word from a sfngie tndividual. In- stead 1 round cordiality every- where.

Where is there anything that con- tributes quite as much to our com- fort and prosperity a s our rail- roads?

Where would we ever be without them?

If they can d o this in spite of all the knocking what wouldn't they do if we'd work with 'em and try a little boosting?

Think i t over.-From the Toledo Rotary Spoke.

Page 23

for them, a s I glad to. But I a r pastime i t is roads.

s t three days a ince last Novem- ske all kinds of

Mittelberg is seventy-three years old, hale and hearty. He attributes his good health to his living condi- tions, and he attributes a world of ex- perience in the study of human nature to his two trips daily via a Frisco su- burban train, for forty-nine years.

He does not cIaim ta be old enough yet, to give advice to young married couples, but "if I were old enough I'd tell them that the only happy way would be to live in the country, just far enough from town and work, to have t o catch a suburban train."

He is the "King of Commuters", with an undisputed t i t l e a n d h e is also a Frisco booster.

"I'm going t o retain that title of 'King of Commuters' and a Frisco booster, too, for many years to come", he said a s he smiled confidently, and resumed hIs work, from which he was interrupted for the brief interview.

WI Wife: "I thin

me while I sew.' Husband : ''I5

m e while I read l Magazine.