The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-05-02
Thomas I'll. Ryan Retired by
Western Union Company
ON Pension
HEADQUARTERS HERE
PAST FORTY YEARS
Strung Wires Over Wide Territory -
More Than One Night Spent on Hoo
sac Mountain - Had Several Falls,
but Never Seriously Hurt.

E'What are you going to do with
yourself now that you have retired |
from such an active life?' asked a
Reformer reporter of Thomas II. Ryan
yesterday afternoon.
Mr.. Ryan, who yesterday was enjoy
ing his first day on pension from the
Western Union Telegraph company af-
ter having been for 80 years engaged
in the business of stringing and re-
pairing telegraph wires and for 40
years section lineman with headquar-
tiers in Brattleboro, chuckled and re
piled:
$50 fishing, [ guess. 1 We remember
ed that [ used to like that when
voungster, but I We not had any time
for 40 years and more. | am not wCr
rying yet about what 1 will do with
myself. -
Mr.. Ryan, with two other young
men, joined a lneman 5 gang from his
home town in Clinton, n. y, in '63.
/ Since then, with the exception of t. o
years little later when he was III
capacitated, he has been stringing, re
( pairing and looking for trouble on
wires
There are wires in Nova Scotia,
/ New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Yer
mont. Massachusetts, New Hampshire
and New York that he has strung. 1t
was i'm the fail of SO that he started
on his life business. The gang of
which he was member and of which
Henry Shepard was the general fore
man strung a telegraph wire from Og-
densburg to Bangor that winter and
then strung one over the Vermont
Central to White River Junction.
When Mr. RYAN was m2do section
I;ua,1ou with baaInl11r+prl rhl ;
town 40 wears ago for the Western
Union company there were only three
. telegraph wires along the railroad.
James Capen was operator here. Now
there are 10 wires to the south and
eight to the north besides special
wires for the regulation of the time
clocks.
The section lneman is primarily q
trouble hunter and repaircr. Not only
does he have the wires but trouble on
the switchboards and Instruments II
care for as well. When his scrtiOl
reaches from Bellows Falls ant South
= Londonderry to North Adams, Mass.
Springfield, Mass, and New London
as did Mr.. Ryan 5 some Is years, afte1
he first came here to take that joh, i
is readily understood that not much Q
his time was spent at his nome.
Just now the section extends fron
Bellows Falls and South Londonderr,
- to Amherst, Mass, and from SCutI
Vernon to Keenc, and that is s,ctlol
n that, when trouble is thick as it gcuer
8 ally is in times of severe stOrHis, !
long enough for the average man \
the time Of the big blizzard % year
ago Mr.. Ryan was caught at Amncrs
and was obliged to remain there til
greater part of the week.
He helped to string the first wiz
= from Greenfield to the mouth q
Hoosac tunnel on the east and speu
more than one night in the early day
Q of his section on top of Hoosac muul
l. tain looking for trouble 1t was d Cas-
I'd of ride when he could on a train
- ride in team when he could and the
ce walk. He slept where and when h
to could, ate likewise and got home whe
- he had chance.
N. Climbing poles is one of lineman
81 specialties, and MIR. Ryan with son
- pride remarked that he climbed pc
er the last day of his work and added
a. p. eff l live to June > | shall be
years of age. Time a. man qu
N climbing poles.
~ ~ lie was never hurt seriously in a
en- Of the 50 years of his work on poll
- in storms and at night, although !
P falls, but had never broken a bone.
81 There have been few improvement
81, in the work of stringing wires, al
81 the wire used today is no better thu
10 that used years ago. The first wi
= strung through Brattleboro is st
RI working. 1t is from Springfield
nd White River Junction.
ly. Mr.. Ryan was born in Canada, b
20 spent his boyhood in Clinton, n.
hot working on the farm until he left
i've take up his life work. He consider
,iai retiring on a pension and talk
If about it, but never made apple
.le- ton. Papers were recently sent hi
s. to sign and he did so, with the rest
,si- that he received the announcement
10 % his retirement April 30 and is now f
!. few days breaking i'm his success,
- /. !. Nickerson.
iay Soon after he was stationed in Br;
IT,