Mitch wrote:Pete, your excerpt from the book brings back vivid memories of the stories my dad told me of working on a farm and the B & O RR when he was a kid.
The Whistlers' got my dad from an orphanage when he was five years old; he said it was because they needed another mule to help run the 60 acre farm in the mountains at Rowlesburg, W.Va. At the age of 14, (1922) he was bucking ties on the RR for $0.50 a day. At the age of 17, he'd had enough of the Whistlers, said he walked down the mountain with his bag to the tracks, grabbed a westbound freight, and never looked back. He ended up in Mingo Jct. Ohio working in the steel mill. His job was to keep the fires going and keep steam up during the night in the switcher engines they used in the mill. From there, it was on to Cleveland, and eventually back to western Pa. at Uniontown. Found one of his brothers in 1954 in Baltimore. Found one of his sisters in 1997 from Charleston, W.Va. Never did find the other brother and sister, and neither did we. No records as the orphanage had burned to the ground in 1919. Dad passed on in 2000 at age 91. I wanted to make it a point to go down to Rowlesburg, and Terra Alta, and some of the other places he talked about, especially now since I am into trains and particularly the Mountain Sub Division of CSX. Gonna get there one of these days.
Very interesting family history Mitch!
If ya decide to head out this way, let me know, I know those woods kinda well. (at least where to avoid the moonshine stills and grass patches)
The Laurel Highlands are still a rough region, hills, hollers, and not much else.
Except some of the best mountain railfannin' in the world!
