Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1916-02-03
Hugh Kelley
Pays Tribute


writer entered the service of the Chi
cago & Northwestern railway in the
motive department of the Baraboo
shops. The next day at noon c. A.
Swineford took the office of superin-
tenuent of the Madison division with j.
Fl. Hull as day train dispatcher and R.A
Cowan, night train dispatcher. From
! that night on through more than 20
years Mr.. Cowan and labored side by
side and | grew to love him as broth
&c. During all these years | never heard
an unkind or harsh word escape his lips.
He was possessed of the most even
temperament that ever saw in man.
Let me give you just one example of
bis composure under trying circum-
stances. | might give you many. About
| two o'clock one morning the engine
dispatcher, Dave Swineford, backed a
locomotive onto the table while it was
being turned to receive another engine.
The tank ran along on the deck of the
table showing the rails ahead of it until
the driving wheels came on, when the
whole thing sank into the pit under the
table, mass of wreckage. l immediately
started the call boy for the wrecking
crew and T. J. McDermot, the master
mechanic, while went up to the office
to tell Mr.. Cowan. He reached for a
| fresh cigar and asked me how long it
would take to repair the table. told
him until noon, at least.
Have you any engines we can
use? Yes, there are six in the
shed in front of the table all headed
north; the others are back of the
table and of course cannot be
moved. Well, Hugh, he said, don't
get excited, we'll get out of this
alright. Hold three of those engines
for north bound trains, and get the
crews for the othert hree quickly as pos
sible. Tell them to come to the office
and will give them orders to run to
Elroy, get turned around, and return.
This will give US three trains each way
and that will keep the yards from get
ting blockaded until they get the table
repaired. You can imagine what lot
of diplomacy it required to fix up all this
unnecessary expense and delay with
Chicago; but the only friction we ex-
perienced wys the dismissal of the en-
CINE dispatcher. 1t requires pretty
strict discipline to handle a railroad,
bnt whenever it fell to Mr.. Cowan's lot
to discipline man it was done in a
quiet, gentlemanly way. The great big
heart that pulsated in his breast warmed
in sympathy for the men of every
race and creed, color and condition in
life.
In 1894 severed my connection with
the company and from that time on our
paths differed widely. During the past
three years, however, would see him
occasionally, but of course he could not
30 me, and used to wonder if he
would remember, through all his affiic-
tions, the boy who spent so many long,
cold nights with him. One day last
summer my curiosity was satisfied.
As was passing his home he sat on
the porch and some one on the opposite
side of the street hailed me. He
sprang to his feet and said: SIS that
Hugh Kelley?" I went over to him
and as he clasped my hand he said:
"Well, we'll, Hugh; l cannot see you
but it does me good to hear your voice
again And then we talked of our
old comrades who had gone; of Superin-
tendent Swineford, of Master Me-
chanics McDermot and Page and of the
host of engineers who helped to keep
Madison Division open during those
fearful winters in the 1908, and as we
talked noticed he became quite pen
sive. Finally he said. Hugh, where
do you think those boys are now?""Oh,
| said, "they were true and faithful SER
wants, they filled to the best of their
ability the niche assigned them in life,
and believe they're in happier con-
dition than when they were with US. |
But" he said, ''none ever come
back to tell US and the preachers |
know little more than we about that |
life" Where do you get your idea?"
I said, "my faith tells me there is a
better life than this. He turned those
sightless eyes into my face and laying |
his hand on my shoulder, he said,
Hugh, hope we may merit that life"
Gentle reader, MIR. Cowan merited
that reward through all his life and |
when they told me last Sunday he was
gone said if ever a soul went straight |
from earth to heaven, he went. And |
when saw them carrying the body to |
it's last resting place, said not, good |
night. Mr.. Cowan; but some day, in a