"Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren" by Skip Salmon

[NW Mailing List]

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with 13 of the Brethren 
and Friends of the Virginian Railway. The restaurant staff normally 
prepares tables for 12 of us ahead of time, so last night was an "overflow" 
event.

We discussed Norfolk Southern's 32% drop in profits for the fourth quarter 
of 2009. I compensated, by showing the Brethren NS's "newest politically 
correct report form #SS2010 'Hurt Feelings Report'". Contact me off line 
and I will sent you a copy.

Our own Miss Virginia was crowned Miss America last Saturday night and the 
Brethren talked of the event. Most did not see the one hour special about 
the judging and inside interviews, so I added to the conversation. It was 
stated that the women used a variety of "tricks" to enhance their 
appearance including double sided tape for pesky straps, convention glue to 
secure swim suits, hairspray to set makeup and my favorite: WD-40 to 
prevent their evening gowns from "clinging".

I reported to the Brethren the passing on January 30, of Walter Marshall 
"Dirty Face" Snead, Jr., age 86, VGN brakeman and conductor whose funeral 
is in Victoria today. Wis Sowder remembered calling him many times for 
work. He said that "Dirty Face" worked the local and because of the many 
stops for "less that a car load" shipping, there were sometimes three 
brakemen on his crew. Raymond East recalled being part of his crew on 
several road trips. Landon Gregory told the Brethren how he got his nick 
name. "Walter wore gloves all the time and because of handling a lot of 
freight and deliveries on the locals, the gloves would get pretty dirty. He 
would wipe his face and someone started calling him dirty face. Rufus 
Wingfield remembered Snead, and recalled that some called him "Mortimer" also.

Last week there was discussion about the Catawba Sanitarium relating to 
"consumption". I got an email from my good friend Jim Cosby who remembered 
seeing German POWs there as a child. "They were a healthy looking bunch (no 
shirts when outside in the sunshine)". I asked Gibby Davis if he remembered 
the prisoners. He said there was a Prisoner of War Camp at the base of 
Catawba Mountain on Bradshaw Road "on the other side of the mountain from 
the hospital". Gibby said the prisoners were used to cut the grass and do 
yard work at the Sanitarium. Gibby had relatives who lived near the camp 
and told us about the prisoners "removing some water melons from their garden".

Passed around were the March 2010 "Trains" magazine, a photo from before 
VGN electrification, of a man walking across the high bridge at Glen Lyn, 
and a J. L. Scott 1997 photo taken from the Walnut Ave Bridge showing the 
connection from the N&W Winston Salem line to the old Virginian at JK, 
still in place.

Our "Jewel from the Past" like one in Wis Sowder's 23 jewel Hamilton 1918 
Model 950 given to him by his uncle when he was 10 years old in 1936, is 
from April 29, 2004: Keith Sowder told us there was a group in Sewells 
Point who used empty coal hoppers going west to transport their untaxed 
liquor during prohibition and even later. VGN personnel in the Roanoke Yard 
got word of this, and set up someone to recon the incoming hoppers on the 
Walnut Ave Bridge. The car with the "hooch" would then be shopped "for 
repairs" as fast as it could be, and hidden on track 9. The hopper would be 
"repaired, by removing the untaxed booze" and released for service...

I passed on to the Brethren a "Spring Excursion" planned by the Roanoke 
Chapter NRHS. We will have a bus take passengers to Lynchburg on Friday May 
14, to catch the Amtrak to Washington. After a 5 hour layover in 
Washington, we will return to Lynchburg and take the bus back to Roanoke. 
More details later.

Glen McLain, our joke man, passed around this joke and it went over well 
with the Brethren, so I will pass it on to you. A lawyer phoned the 
governor's mansion shortly after midnight. "I need to talk to the governor, 
it's an emergency!". The governor's aide eventually agreed to wake him up. 
"So, what is it that's so important that it can't wait until morning?" 
grumbled the governor. "Judge Brown just died, and I want to take his 
place," pleaded the attorney. "Well, its OK with me if its OK with the 
Mortuary," came the reply.

Time to pull the pin on this one!

Departing Now from V248,

Skip Salmon

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