Here's the article today from the local paper here in Orange County, NY. The newspaper has also posted pictures at their web site: http://www.th-record.com/ December 4, 2004 Last run By Judy Rife Times Herald-Record Every commuter on Train 50 yesterday knew that it was Jack Martel's last day. They shook his hand, patted him on the back and threw their arms around him as they wished the 70-year-old NJ Transit conductor congratulations and good luck on his retirement. Martel clearly relished the affection as he moved down the aisles of the Comet Vs, punched tickets and told commuters one more time: "Good morning to you, thank you, now take it away, and have a good day." As soon as the last commuters boarded at Harriman, Martel removed a big cardboard box from the luggage rack and paraded through the cars to show off the elaborate cake that a cleaning woman at the Port Jervis yard had made for him. Sticking out of his pocket was an engraved desk clock from Metro-North Railroad and a laminated copy of a letter from an appreciative commuter to the NJ Transit brass. It was on this pass that commuters learned Martel was not simply retiring, but retiring after 47 years of railroading – on the Erie, then the Erie-Lackawanna, then Conrail and, since 1980, NJ Transit. "I'm No. 1 on the roster and they've got 1,250 people on the roster now, and I'm one of the last Erie men,'' Martel said, his face beaming with pride. "It's the seniority that's got me the jobs from Port Jervis for the past 10 years or so." Martel, who was eligible to retire with a generous pension and benefits when he turned 60, couldn't readily explain why he had kept working. "I like dealing with people, helping people," he said. "They made my life – you see how they treat me; I'm proud of that – and I guess they're why I couldn't give it up." Martel is a self-confessed workaholic. As a child in Waldwick, N.J., he delivered papers, shoveled snow, set pins in a bowling alley and sold tropical fish. He saw active duty with the Navy in the Korean War before signing on as a railroader. Shift work suited him perfectly. It allowed him to drive buses for Short Line for 20 years, run a limousine service for 15 years and work as a cop for eight years along with working on the railroad. In fact, Martel changed into a Gray Line uniform after he arrived in Hoboken Terminal and went to the city for what would be his last day at Short Line's sister company, too. "You don't know the half of it,'' Martel laughed. "I've worked day and night for years. I put my [five] kids through college and my wife, Dolly, too, after the kids were grown. She did a good job. I gave them everything, but I never saw them. I understand I elected to live this way so when they call the house and ask for her, I don't complain." Dolly Martel, a critical care nurse, retired in October. A son and a daughter-in-law work for NJ Transit. And the Martel clan is expecting its 15th grandchild in May. "I don't know what I'm going to do next but I'll come up with something, something that has to do with people,'' said Martel as co-workers and commuters gave him more hugs and handshakes in Hoboken. "I can't sit still." - --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? The all-new My Yahoo! – What will yours do? ------------------------------
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