Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: REMEMBER (02/03/22)
-
TITLE: ALL ABOARD ! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Mariane Holbrook
02/07/22 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
My connection to trains was through my father who worked all his life as a pipefitter at a Lehigh Valley Railroad hub in Pennsylvania. His hard-earned paycheck from that railroad funded the college education of six of his seven children.
As a three-year-old, I waited on our front porch every weekday afternoon for any sign of Daddy at the street corner, returning home from work. Seeing him, I would run down the sidewalk, knowing he would pick me up and carry me home. With my face buried in his shoulder, I would inhale the railroad scent on his sooty shirt and feel both comforted and safe. Daddy was home.
Whether working outside in the suffocating heat during the summer or in the under-heated "roundhouse" during the winter, this job was not my father's first choice. He did it because his wife and seven children depended on it and because it was the only work available in our small valley, so he did it as unto the Lord. His passion was studying and preaching the word of God. Only his family placed higher on his well-thought-out list of priorities.
After Daddy returned home from work, he would immediately rush to the shower. Mother always had a tall glass of ice tea waiting for him down in the cellar, the coolest place in the house. (Air conditioning would not be available to our family for another decade.) An easy chair, a lamp, an old end table, and a small area rug spread out on the dirt floor were all he needed for his "Man cave," his oasis, his place of refuge. Painful, irritating rashes from the heat and chemicals with which he worked, covered his arms. He scratched his arms until they bled, even during his sleep.
Daddy earned the respect of the workers at his job, so during the Great Depression, he was asked to conduct a Bible Study during the workers' lunch breaks. The men were so grateful to have any kind of job that they wanted to thank God through studying His word.
One day in 1946, he came home from work with a broad smile on his face. "Guess what," he said, "I got a raise today! From now on I'll be making *$2.12 an hour."
Daddy loved taking his family on train trips to New York City or Buffalo. The passenger trains in the 1940s and 1950s had a distinctive smell unlike any other I have ever encountered, combining locomotive exhaust, creosoted ties, brake dust, and hot valve oil that built up over time. In 1951, the Lehigh Valley Railroad replaced its entire steam locomotive roster with diesel locomotives making the air in the passenger cars more comfortable.
I have heard many conductors make the "All aboard" call, but I don't believe any one of them ever did it the same way. Some gave a short, quick "BOARD" while others bellowed an extended "ALLLL ABOOOAAARD," with an array of various tone inflections.
After boarding and choosing our seats, we would feel the sudden lurch of the train. The mournful steam whistle, the piercing scream of the brakes, the belching steam from the locomotive, all represented the sights and sounds of the railroad in the 1940s. These endearing senses were part of the lyrics in the popular bluegrass songs, "Orange Blossom Special" and "The Wabash Cannonball."
Arriving at "Penn Station," (New York City's main intercity railroad station serving 600,000 people every workday during the 1940s), we gazed with open mouths at this massive architectural masterpiece, then began our tour of the city.
Our Bible-based church and the Lehigh Valley Railroad were the two constants in our lives. One provided us with spiritual food while the other put food in our mouths.
Daddy never owned a house or a car and he never had a savings account. Kind widows at church provided his wardrobe by giving him their deceased husbands' suits.
After he retired, I sat with him on our front porch glider while he rocked my newborn baby to sleep. "I was a railroad man, earning only minimum wage," he said, "but I am the richest man I know, with a godly wife, seven successful children who were taught to love Jesus, and my Savior who loves me without reservation."
___________________________________
*Today's pipefitters earn $28.26 per hour
NON-FICTION
"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ." (Colossians 3:23-24) KJV
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
But you've brought out a lot more than nostalgia here, in the depth of your appreciation and love for your Daddy. Quiet and constant inspiration. Well done.
“The men were so grateful to have any kind of job that they wanted to thank God through studying His word.”