The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1912-11-15
An
Upward
Step
Made by q Station
Agent
By MARK TRAVERS
By MARK TRAVERS

James Doughty went to work In
telegraph office carrying messages
when he was ten years old. When
not engaged at what he was hired to
do he was questioning tho operators
as to how they communicated with
distant points, the alphabet they used
and other matters pertaining to teleg-
raphy. When he was twelve, though
he would not have been fitted to fill
IN operators position, he knew many
things about the telegraphic system
that some operators did not know, for
Jimmie was of an inqulring turn of
mind and was always looking into
things and the reasons for their being.
When he was fourteen, being large
and strong for his age, he was given
a job as assistant in the construction
department of telephone company
Here, too, Jimmie wanted TO know the
"why and wherefore" and at the same
time absorbed the practical features
OF making telephone lines. by the
time he was eighteen years old, hay
ing the materials. he was perfectly
capable of setting up a telegraph or
telephone line and operating 1t.
The first situation of any Importance
Jimmie secured was that of station
agent on the Y. G. and st. G. railroad.
But he was only nineteen, and to Sc
cure such n place he was obliged to
take station in n desolate place, the
nearest house being mile away. At
this house he took his meals, sleeping
in room over the station.
In the family with which he boarded
was country lass two or three years
younger than Jimmie, whose blue eyes
and yellow hair naturally had an eff
feet on the young station agent. A
single girl off by herself is to young
man as jackknife is to boy. That
same knife In store among a hun
bred other knives is not nearly so
beautiful as when he gets 1t home.
1t wasn't long before Jimmie and
Kitty concluded that 1t would not be
half so lonely for Jimmie II they could
build little nest nearer the station,
where they would dwell together. Jim
ME had the framework of a small
house and the other necessary parts
shipped to him. The people thereabouts
got together for a house raising, and
Kitty's pop. with occasional help from
Jimmie, did the rest, except the paint
ing, which Jimmie did at such times
as he could leave the station.
When all was finished those who had
helped to build the nest were invited
to the wedding and after it was over
left the young couple in their new
home. The first thing Jimmie did after
they were married was to build tele-
phone from the station TO his home.
He located the station end Of 1t In the
room above. which he had used for a
bedroom, In order that II any one came
In while he was talking with his wife
he might not be overheard There was
steep. narrow staircase leading up
to this room from the waiting room.
ticket and telegraph office below.
He wrote to his old employers. the
telephone company, to send him the
apparatus he needed. knowing that
they had plenty such material In old
stock, and they made him a present OF
an outfit. including a desk transmitter
and receiver Since there were nights
station he put the instrument between
his cot and the side Of the house
Since the latter was not plastered
there was n convenient place for II be
tween two joists and the clapboards.
Often when he was about 10 snatch an
hours sleep be would throw himself
on the cot. pick up the instrument. call
Kitty for few words. then set 1t down
again on the floor The wires passed
directly out of the house. down behind
a water spout and thence underground
to Jimmie's home.
During the day when confined to the
station, he would often go upstairs, es-
pecially after the baby came, to call
up Kitty and ask her how she was
getting on, II she wanted anything and
to send kiss for both mother and
child One day while thus engaged a
| person came into the station, and since
| the room below was neither sealed nor
| plastered Jim was overheard. After
that when telephoning, upon hearing a
step below. he wrapped his head and
the instrument in bedquilt. which
| deadened the sound
These details may seem unimpor
tnnt, but a time came when they were
a turning point In Jimmie's life. But
that was not for some time after his
marriage Meanwhile he was thinking
about his wife and baby's future The
appearance OF helpless child in {
mans life stimulates him to action
Jimmie was not getting on very fas
In accommodating surplus funds, and h,
felt the responsibilities resting upor
him. He didn't like the idea In cas-,
he should die of leaving his wife with
no income. and as for the baby. n boy
he wished him to have the advantag,
of an education. That meant tn
wherewithal to secure one. Since tn
father had not been able to get nue.
education himself, he understood tn
disadvantage of being thus deprive
and was all the more eager that hi
son should he favored.
Jim was now man of twenty-fiv
years One night there were extr
trains on the railroad making thei
Graof P,riIdinn Falls