(erielack) Morristown Station

[Robert Stafford <erielack1_@_yahoo.com>]

Since we are going into the Christmas season here is a
Morristown Christmas story.

Christmas Day 1974 I worked as the EL Agent at
Morristown. Morristown was a Star Agency. Being a Star
Agent the job rate of pay was monthly rated and
included holiday pay. This met that the agent at
Morristown worked all the holidays that feel on
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Their
was no overtime for the holiday for working that day. 
    The railroad station was one of the few places
open that day. The station hours where from 0600 hrs
until 1430 with 30 Min's off for lunch. We where
running the holiday schedule, I think I had one train
per hour each way. I had one fellow come in on a train
from Madison. He had purchased a ticket on the
conductor on the train. When he got to Morristown he
purchased a one way ticket to go back to Madison from
me. He was cheerful and happy. We wished each other
Merry Christmas. 
I really have no memories of the few other tickets I
sold that day. I sort of remember a family going east
to visit someone and that is about it. 
   I do remember it was a cold day. The waiting room
was about the only place in town that was open to the
public. After about 1000 hrs the waiting room slowly
started to fill up with the local homeless, or
derelicts as we called them in those days, getting out
of the cold. 
   The follow from Madison who had purchased a ticket
from me showed back up about 1PM to catch a train back
to Madison. By now he was as drunk as a skunk. He
could not walk straight and even more jolly. The
eastbound train arrived from Dover. He went out the
waiting room door started up the steps and fell flat
on his face on the car steps. I had opened up the
ticket office door trackside to keep an eye on this
fellow as he went out onto the platform. I still
remember the conductor giving a me bunch of b_s_ for
not knowing the rules and selling a ticket to a drunk.
I told him that he was fine when he purchased his
ticket several hours before when he came in from
Madison on the train with a ticket another conductor
had sold him. The conductor and the ticket collector
each grabed the drunk under his shoulders and pulled
him up into the car and droped him hard into the first
seat of the car.
  About 1345 I started to call out through the ticket
window that I was going to be closding and locking up
the station soon and that everyone need to leave. No
one did. About 1400 hrs I called the local police and
asked them to come down and clean out the waiting room
so I could go home. Two policemen showed up a small
white cop and a big, and I mean big black cop. The
waiting room emptied out real fast when they showed up
except for a few who where passed out on the benches.
The cops went around poking the sleeping derelicts
with their night sticks to wake them up. I still
remember a very important lesson I learned that day
when the big black guy told me to near get close to
one of these guys when they where sleeping because you
never knew if they where to come up with a knife in
their hand when you woke them up. Over the past 30
plus years I have always remembered his advice. Just
about 2 years ago I had one sleeping with his head on
the ballast shoulder. Train 650 went by him and called
me, they knew that they did not hit him, but he needed
to be chased off. This one came up with a knife when I
was poking him with a stick to wake him up. I real
life lesson learned from Morristown. 
   The waiting room was all emptied out except for
this one black bum that refused to wake up no matter
how hard he was poked in the ribs with a night stick.
I watch in total amazement when that big cop finally
had enough and cracked this guy right across his
forehead with his night stick, and I mean hard. The
guys foehead started to bleed, but he woke up. He came
up ready to fight. The two cops grabbed him, hand
cuffed him and took out for a ride in the police car. 
  I locked the station up and drove back home to
Bangor. I think my wife remembers Christmas 1974 as
the Longest Christmas. Making the kids wait until
Daddy got home from work before she would let them
open their presents. She never said much about it, but
I think that must have been a tuff day for her. She
had made a real nice Christmas Diner, another memory
that I have from that day. 
Bob Stafford


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