Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1937-07-24

punched tickets on a Montana pas
senger train. He ran for many
years ON the Great NoTtnern EA1a-
road between Havre and Anaconda
when the Great Northern passen-
ger trains went through Butte 20
that city. Prior to that he ran east
az Hayre His dry Irish wit never
failed him and won nlm accA an
from citizens in all walks OF IRE.
It seemed that he knew not only
fhe travelling public, but all or the
v,eonIe in ali Of the towns through
which his train passed. His friends
were limited only by the census
Tbere is no question but that the
majority of the always joyous moments
of Jerry Flanigan'S lie were spenV
listening to the click OF the car WneeS
over the rail joints, lurching down the
aisle Of crowded passenger az. cOI. aits
lantern on his arm, punching Cne DIS
of pasteboard which gave their owners
the privilege Of riding with jerry tlan-
igan-for to all who knew him IL was
a privilege. -.
But there was one high spot In , Jer-
rvs life that stood out above al otnerS.
II was the trip he took to New YORK
Citv and to the races at Sheepshead
nav in the summer Of 1899, as the
p1lest of Marcus Daily, first OF Mon
fana's copper mining magnates. from
it Jerry dated all subsequent events,
and no fold stories of his experiences
for wears afterwards-and a new story
for every day.
Intimate Friends
DAILY and Flanagan were intimate
friends. for no apparent reason WnaC-
ever. except that each recognized II
the other that something upon Wnlc1
friendship is built Jerry always clallne91
that ne had never had any unusual
adventIIres as a railroad man; that
he had never been in charge OF tram
that was badly wrecked, or that mad
been held up, and he ran them N Gays
when holdups we're not lnIrequenI. put
his trip east with Mr.. DAILY was an al
vantI,re in his ewes which eclipsed all
the experiences of years OF railroaolng.
II was. to hear him tell 1t, filled WIN
thrills, amazing events, amusing cpl
sodes. -. 49,, -,
ACQUAINTED at the funeral Of Col.
Charles A. Broadwater, pioneer mer--
chant and banker of Montana and
the right hand man in this state OF
James ]. Hill during the. years tnat
the Empire builder was laying the ralls
of the Great Northern INTO Cne n l.,l.Il-
west backed only by his own resources
and those of his financial associates.
IN the wears afterwards, when travelling
over the Great Northern, 1t MADE no
difference to DAILY how prominent the
men with him, when his car was az
ALWAYS managed to get away from them
for a quiet chat with the conductor.
In the summer of 1899 Jerry was III.
He was forced to lay OFF his run Tor
several months and lost 40 pounds IN
weight. He was LOOKING preggy peaahsu
when one day in the lobby OF the Mon
tana hotel at Anaconda he encountered
DAILY.
you're looking BAD said DAILY.
"I'm feeling worse than look" re-
piled Jerry.
'sWhat you need" continued the
mining man, "is a change Of climate"
Your judgment is good" was the
rejoinder. "a.
the climate of SheepShead bay"
Jerry perked up.
handicap to be run"
zone week from today. Pack your
grip and get down to my car I'm
going right out and there's plenty OF
That's how Jerry happened to go
east with Marcus DAILY in the latter's
private car They travelled over the
Northern Pacific railroad, ana WINE
Jerry would perhaps have felt more
at home on his own line, he MADE no
complaint about little thing ike LnaC.
AS a matter of fact, although jerry /
would not have admitted 1t, the Great |
Northern had a lot more bumps az
that time than the ~; r. Wnlcn hAo
been pretty well smoothed of by sew
eral years more Of operation IMAM the
Hill line.
In st. Paul they stopped day. Jerry
met the big fellows, wore a white vest
and smoked Havana cigars 70 ms
hearts content. Then to Chicago on
the Burlington and on 70 NE" horA
In Chicago, Jerry went out on the
rear platform Of Days car while the
ward sWitchmen were coupling 1t onJo
the Pennsylvania train. AS the sWlCcn-
man uncoupled the engine from Cne
car. Jerry leaned over and shook hands |
with him and gave him 30 golo
piece.
"That" said Jerry in relating the
story afterwards was to show MIN |
what kind of fellow I was. He tipped
his hat to me, and said: Thank you
Mr.. DAILY and that's all the credit
got for that"
Under the constant care and atten--
ton of Mr.. Days chef, Jerry could
feel his health returning with every
mile they Travelled towards Sheepshead
bav. In New York headquarters were
to be at the Hoffman house. But the
first thing that Jerry wanted TO see
was a baseball game, so he LETT Mr..
DAILY at the depot, placed his baggage
in the care of a cabman to be delivered
to the hotel and climbed into another
cab himself to get to the elevated, and
so on to the Polo grounds where the
New York and Brooklyn teams were
playing that day. The game broke. up
in a row and was declared forfeited
to Brooklyn Jerry said there was no
shooting
But when he started to leave, most
of the other cash customers were try
ing to get their money back at the
ticket office. and told him to get In
Time Valuable
Listen" said Jerry. MY time in
New York is worth $40 a minute and
can't waste it here trying to get
back so cents"
a big crowd blocking the way, hooting
and yelling and demanding their money
back. Jerry saw a policeman and adj
dressed him