Nostalgia & History > The Last Hand Fired Mike

In 2000 I was still working in the radio business when I came up with the idea of doing a radio documentary on the men who worked on the railroad during the steam era. I put out a little note on our station's "swap shop" sort of segment, which resulted in my visiting Mr. Robert Presley in Hurst, Illinois.

Robert Presley went to work on the Illinois Central in 1941 at age 15, working for his father who was the foreman on a track gang. He later went in the service at the tail end of World War II, and returned to the railroad when he left the military in 1946. His career eventually took him into the roundhouse at Carbondale, Illinois, and into the signal department during slack periods at the roundhouse. Mr. Presley was 84 years old when he passed away in 2011.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

Mary,
Thank you for this wonderful series of recordings. It is sad that so many pictures have been taken over the years and photos don't tell the whole story. We should have been recording memories as well. I am reminded of my first visit to the North Carolina Museum of Transportation at Spencer around 1985. Most of the volunteers there at the time were retired railroaders and I watched a crew of them doing some switching of the equipment on display. The hand signals and the smooth way that they would catch up on or drop off of moving equipment was a sight to see. I remember telling someone that a movie of these guys working should be made.
Charlie

Thank you so much for posting these timeless stories! What a nice way to spend an early Saturday evening listening to them. The greatest generation!

I certainly agree with the others Mary. This series is EXCELLENT.

ButteStBrakeman

Mary, I second 1019X's comments. This series you recorded is such a great supplement to the old photos. I wish there was more of it. For that matter, I hope someone is sitting down with today's restorers like Ross, Wes, Doyle, Jack and others and recording comments.

Mary,

Thanks for one of the most interesting sets of posts ever on Trainorders. We are blessed that you had the foresight to record these conversations, save them all these years, and now take time to share them. I would listen to these all day long!

Posted from iPhone

Jared Hamilton
Scott Depot, WV