The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-21
TREE PLANTING
TO TIPIFY LIFE
or ROCK ISLAND
Memorials to he Located at Each
IndfyideaI Point on Railroad
Marking Years Of Operation.

LAY OF WE1tEfu fAifUa1iAe
the west was young will be marked
By memorial tree planting this year
by the Rock Island Lines during a
celebration of the 18th anniversary
of the running Of the first train
from Chicago to Joliet. That was
ID October. 1882, and things In
Transportation way have changed
since the day when the passengers
Fladly got out and helped the crew
lsad a new supply of coal or wood
plans worked out by the agri-
cultural department of the railroad
md the American Forestry associd-
zion provides for the planting OF
these memorial trees in connection
With the town and station beautifl-
cation campaign the road has IN
anglrafed.
The anniversary celebration by
me Rock Isia-d viii be inaugural
Cd with the planting of memorial
trees fret at the division points
such as Chicago. Little Rock, III
Keno, Davenport, Des Moines.
Omaha, Denver, 5t. Paul. Kansas
City and Minneapolis. There will
be 20 trees planted at Chicago to
typify the number of years the
road has been in operation in Illi-
uois. At Ell Reno, Okla, 33 trees
will be planted because of the years
the reaI has been in operation In
that state. There will be "a trees
on the Kansas division; 50 trees
On the Iowa division; and 40 trees
On the Missouri division. After the
division points the smaller towns
will take up the work The Ameri-
can. Forestry association will regis
ter the trees On it's national honor
roll
"OId timers" who remember the
.Anerica, the old silver engine
No 1903. have been asked to notify
the Rock Island Ii tof here
will be a place for them in the cele-
bration program. Little Mary
Quaid." the hrst woman passenger
on the Rock Island, who saw the
division to Joliet completed in
1852. would have had the place of
honor but she died a short time
ago. AS a girl she carried lunch to
her brother, construction foreman.
and played along the ticks hen
he line was built. On the day the
hrst train moved out of Chicago,
eresident Fari lifted her up b.
side him and she made the trip as
the first V~nan pass gar" AT
Joliet, where the big dinner was
served, she sat next y the president
Of the road The Quaids hal J owed
from kenosha, Wis. SO that, her
brother could 20 the construction.
work.
: No 109 had a unique history
Built by the Grant Locomotive
Works at Paterson, n. j., the
boiler, steam chest, dome ana
smoke stack were covered with d
thin sheet If German silver No
Tvs was exhibited at the worlds
fair in Paris In 1867. John f..
Lacey, honor man and engineer Of
Chicago, l. retired. once Lelped
to polish old 109 as one OF his first
duties with the road Lacey is The
engineer, who in So years of service
Travelled more than IS times e
distance around the world and
never had an accident. He j. Que
OF the seven ' planted a tree in
the honor row at Midlothian, Ill,
each having been in the ST ee 90
years or more.
When the silver engine was
brought TO Chicago J. q sensa-
ton. The engine arrived in MAY,
1859, at the La Sale street station.
the second structure to be built at
La Sale and Van Buren, streets. On
the Fourth of July of that year,
hedecked with ribbons and polished
until she glistened. No. 109 pulled
out of the station with a special
train of seven cars and headed Tor
Council Bluffs. the road to which
had just been completed
Officials and their guests crowded
the train and thousands lined the
right -ot-way to see the silver en-
CINE that had been in Paris. In
every town of any size there Wee
brass bands, rorades and speech
making. At Colona, III, the fue.
gave out so President Tracy, with
members of the board of directors.
aided by townspeople turned in and
loaded the tender with wood The
IRE boxes in those days were made
10 burn either wood or coal. There
was stopover of one night 1T
davenport for two reasons. One
was to let the passengers get a Iis-
tie rest from the continual Zebra
ticn and the other was TO give a
night force an opportunity to poi
ish the engine again. for thousar e.
OF hands had ruined the lustre On
100, so anxious were the owners Of
the hands to see if 1t was German
silver.
After several years of service lUg
round Its way to the junk man aft
or pumping water for florist for
some years and helping to heat mis-
green house. Old l0s is gone but
Ifar story will be told anew in the
nth anniversary celebration of the
pioneer days OF railro4ding.