Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1905-05-05
VISITING OLD SCENES.
Albert II. Copeland of Chenoa, ILL.,, Finds
Many Changes i'm Middlcbury.


After an absence of nearly two score
years Albert II. Copeland returns to
Middlebury to renew acquaintances with
the remaining companions of his youth
and he tells Register reporter that but
few remain to participate with him in
the "reminiscences of the early SOS.
Mr.. Copeland, although having reached
the four score mark bids fair to celebrate
many more birthdays and is a most in
teresting raconteur of events that have
long since passed into history-the his
tory of Middlebury.
Mr.. Copeland after serving an appren-
ticeship as a printer in this town opened
a book and periodical store in the Brew
ster building in the room now used by
the express companies and he was the
first person to bring daily papers to this
town. In those days New York papers
were day old upon their arrival here,
nevertheless they sold readily.
To Mr.. Copeland belongs the distinc-
tion of being the first train dispatcher in
this country, for it was in the late fall of
1862 that he arranged for the moving of
trains over the Rutland railroad through
the agency of telegraph wires.
Albert Copeland, then a young man in
the 20s, was employed in the postoffice
and in addition to his postal duties he
was the telegraph operator. In that
period of the history of railroading trains
were run upon time card" schedule.
A train upon reaching Middlebury from
the south would wait a day, or week if
necessary, for the arrival of the train
from the north, the latter perhaps being
delayed north of Vergennes.
One day in December, 1852, Mr.. Cope
land learned cover the wire" that the
train from the south was delayed on
account of snow below Rutland and
thinking that the conductor of the south
bound train, which was just pulling into
Middlebury, might be interested in the
condition of railroad affairs south of this
town he went down to the depot and
acquainted the train crew with the fact
of the snow blockade below Rutland.
While telling the conductor what he
had learned it occurred to Mr.. Copeland
to suggest that upon the arrival of the
graph operator there might telegraph to
Rutland and secure permission to take
his train through to that city and not
wait for the "stalled" train coming
north.
The conductor grasped the opportunity
to make quick trip to Rutland but told
Mr.. Copeland he would have to go down
to Brandon and manipulate the telegraph
key as the Brandon operator was absent
from town. Mr. Copeland did SO and
inside of an hour or two had arranged
for the moving of not only this passen-
ger train but several freights.
Thus Mr.. Copeland became the first
train dispatcher in this country, although
it was not until several years later that
the moving of trains by the aid of the
telegraph came into general use.
For nearly 20 years Mr.. Copeland was
employed as a telegraph operator and
ticket agent on the Chicago & Alton lines
in the West He apparently enjoys the
atmosphere of a newspaper office and
print shop and has had practical expert
ence in both, being for 80 years a staff
writer on the Bloomington, ILL.,, Daily
Pantagraph His home is now in
Chenoa, Ill.