The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-07-01

AVG Is. 1915, in the Pellerin house. lie
lived on Orchard street until he was Il
attending school in Centervllle. Then he
went to Boston and worked year IN a
wholesale grocery store, and for the next
five years carried on store in West
Brattleboro.
1t was then 1872, and Mr.. Wheeler Sc
cured a position as passenger brakeman,
running between Brattleboro and New
London A year later, George J.. Spat-
ford, who is now one of the oldest con
ductors on the line, took Mr.. Wheeler's
place at the brake wheel and Mr..
Wheeler became baggage master between
Brattleboro and Palmer, another crew
covering the southern end of the line,
from Palmer to New London.
He was baggage master five years and
then, in 1878, he became conductor on
mixed train between Brattleboro and
Millers Falls, acting in that capacity six
wears. Then he succeeded Conductor
William Hastings as conductor OF reg
ular passenger train between BrattlebOro
and Palmer. For 10 years this was his
run and then took run from Brattle-
boro to New London and return, covering
that run % years. The schedule re-
auired him to leave here around 6 or
o'clock in the morning, arriving here on
the return from New London between 8
and 10 at night according as the schedule
changed. For the past year he has run
between Palmer and New London, which
kept him way from home nearly all the
time.
While Mr.. Wheeler has not kept an ae-
curate record of the number of miles he
has Travelled i'll his As years of railroad
ing he figures that he has ridden about
100000 miles, which would be the
equivalent of about six round trips to
the moon.
In his long service for the railroad Mr.
Wheeler has met hundreds of thousands
of persons, and there are literally thou
sands with whose faces he is familiar
although he cannot call them by name. / t
has always been his aim to be courteous,
and only a short time ago an incident
occurred which showed that it paid to be
accommodating. A passenger greatly de
sired to make a certain train connect on
and Conductor Wheeler did all he could
to that end, but the other train pulled
out of the station Just as the passenger
was ahghting from Conductor Wheeler's
train. The passenger wrote a vigorous
kick to the railroad administration
but said he wanted to commend the con
ductor as a good railroad man and a
gent eman, a combination ! have rarely
met with lately" The administration
at once inquired to know the name of
the conductor i'll order that he might be
Icomplimented.
! No passenger on Mr.. Wheeler's train
ever was killed or seriously injured, but
on two occasions Mr.. Wheeler himself
was used up neryously on account of un-
avoidable accidents. In 1908 near Lever.
EFT, Mass, a broken rail caused a spill
which resulted in the conductor staying
at home two weeks, and later near
Mortified Farms broken journal caused
an accident which shook Mr. Wheeler III
considerably and caused him to stay
away from work three weeks.
He considers that the public in genera
is honest, and rarely have attempts beer
made to ride on his train without pawn!
fare. Occasionally some woman woul,
undertake to have her child shrink t,
Ismall proportions in order to appear TOT
fyouIg to pay for riding, and on sue
occasions the conductor would suggest l.
the parent that the child be made to 81
lup straight to avoid curvature of tn
Espine.
~ iIcH dShEu as 10 the changed method
of handling and accounting for fares an
, doing the conductors work, Mr.. Wheele
! saiU the question opened up big subject
SO i'll the interest of economy of spac
= that subject is dismissed with this mer
reference to it.
Thirty-six years ago Mr. Wheeler bui
the house which he and his wife, VIII
was Mrs. Eliza DEAN Bangs, no,
occupy on Pearl street Mr.. Wheeler Ina
daughter, Miss Kate II. Wheeler {
. West Brattleboro, a Mutual Aid ass,
! citation nurse, and son, j. Fran
! Wheeler of Willimantic, Conn, a condu,
i tor on the New York, New Haven
: Hartford, children by a former marriag
and step-son, DIR. Bean c. Bangs {
I Milford, Conn, a surgeon in the emplo
of the Travellers Insurance Co, his pre-
. eat headquarters being New London. M
: Wheeler is brot or of Mrs Ada NJ. Viii
Il ney, widow of c. G.. Whitney of BrattL
boro, and Mrs. Ellen r. Prouty. wido
Z ,of Luther NJ. Prouty of Hartford, Con
= REXEyIyA NTIH