Grayson County TXGenWeb

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Railroad

AGED BUT 63 HAS 53 YEARS OF SERVICE
Charles A. Ellsworth, Chief Time-Keeper, Denison, Has Most Unique Record

September 3 was a gala occasion for employes in the superintendent's office at Denison who joined in congratulating Charles A. Ellsworth, chief timekeeper, on his completion of 53 years of continuous service with the Katy. The fact that Mr. Ellsworth was rounding out more than a half-century of loyal and efficient service is well worth mentioning, but the real occasion was that he had completed 53 years' work for the Katy at the age of 63, having spent all but 10 years of his life in the employment of our lines.

At an age when most boys were playing with their tops and marbles, Mr. Ellsworth was a full-fledged railroader. Entering Katy service as a messenger boy on September 3, 1883 (or 1885), he was 'shooting' messages at the age of 10 at the old dispatcher's office that stood across from the passenger station, attending school during the day and working at night.

Two year later Mr. Ellsworth was promoted to call boy and he likes to sit back at his desk and tell fellow employes how important he felt on his first "big job."

Being a caller in those days was no easy job. Before the general use of the telephone and the introduction of the automobile simplified the task of summoning trainmen to duty, it was a real job, Mr. Ellsworth will have you know. "I rode horseback to call the train and engineers and often spend 12 hours a day on the job," he said recently.

Reaching maturity after several years as a caller, he entered yard service as a switchman and later went on the road as a brakeman While attempting to connect a car equipped with one of the first automatic couplers in use on our lines, he lost a part of his left foot in an accident near Alvarado, Tex., in 1895. After spending nine months in a hospital he was placed in charge of a switch on the Sherman branch prior to his return to train service the following year.
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To be a efficient timekeeper, Mr. Ellsworth believes one should have a thorough knowledge of railroading, and his service, both in the operating and freight departments, rightfully qualifies him for his work. Following his injury in 1895 he entered the freight office at Denison as a clerk and subsequently held every job in the freight and yard office prior to his appointment as timekeeper in 1913.

A placid individual, Mr. Ellsworth regards his service with the Katy with characteristic calmness. But fellow workers commenting on his achievement, assert that he ranks with the Katy's crack timekeepers and explain that figuring enginemen's time, which is based on the size of the locomotives, hours of service and mileage, is a complicated task that requires real ability.