| The Dreaded "Crew Clerk" Job There were many clerical jobs on the Railroad but I imagine this job was probably the most dreaded, avoided, despised, criticised, hated, aggravating, stressful and downright unthankful one of them all. There were other jobs that came close to this one, like, maybe the operator job simply because of the workload and responsibility that came with it. Part of the reason it was such a tough job is because you had to call so many people to work. This included trainmen, switchmen, engineers, conductors, yardmasters and clerical people. Needless to say, you had to know all of these crafts' union contracts as to how to call them or else you could cost the company money in the way of claims that the aforementioned crafts might turn in if they were not called to work the proper job. You have to remember that all these crafts were unionized and they were very protective of their rights as being called for a job that they stood to work. As stated earlier in my accounts of Working on the Railroad, when I started with my career at SAL in Hamlet, I was forced into the crew office and hated every minute of it. I believe at that time, around 1971 or so, Ernest Huguelet (I believe that is spelled correctly) was in charge of the crew office and I believe Mrs Stubbs was the first shift crew clerk. They were not known for being easy to get along with. For my sake, I believe both retired shortly after I got bumped out of that job. Also, Elton Cook was the Term Supt and I was always afraid he was going to come into the office and ask me a contractual question I couldn't answer. Fast forward to about 15 years later and Father Time has managed to change my prospective of working in the "dreaded" Crew Office. During this time I had managed to acquire a little more practical experience on other jobs there and as things started to change, I had started to appreciate what the crew job might offer. For instance, Job Security - as we used to call it. I realized this was a job that nobody else wanted. I mean, look at all you had to learn to work this job. You had to know all the contracts - trainmen, engineers, hostlers, firemen, switchmen, clerical, yardmasters, etc. Because, if you didn't, these guys would rake you over the coals with time tickets. Overtime - if that is what you wanted, and I did, then this was the job that you could get all you wanted. Because of the stress associated with the crew job, there seemed to be a lot of clerks that took off to get a breather from the requirements of the job. As my seniority started to add up to my advantage, there came a time when I had the opportunity to bid in the 2nd shift crew job. Being one of the least wanted jobs, I bid it in but what made it worthwhile is that it had Friday and Saturday off. Plus during that time Lois Wheeler was the Crew Boss and she really helped and inspired me on the job. I remember many times I would have to call her at home with a question about a seniority move someone wanted to make. Working that second shift crew job was enough to make you drink, smoke and cuss. And I did it all. Because you had to be on your toes when dealing with the crews coming and going. They were always trying to make a seniority move and you had to know if it was legal or not. A lot of the crews had assigned jobs and they would just show up when they were supposed to or when you called them to go on duty. But it could be hectic when the Yardmaster wanted to call extra trains and you didn't have enough men on the extra board to fill the job. Then, you would have to call other guys and pull them off of their regular job and use them on the train that was to be called. That could be a job in itself since most of the guys knew about when their job should be called and would not answer the phone for extra service or to be switched. Plus, they had their wives trained to tell the crew clerk they weren't there. This happened all the time...trains to call and not enough men to run it. And, when you couldn't fill a crew for a train, the company wasn't too pleased. I remember when I first worked the crew job at Yard A, they had a big glass board with pegs of wood that you would line up so the crews could come there and see how they stood as far as being called. There were books in the open window that crews would register in and out of and whenever a seniority move was made, I would have to write it in the book. The guys always complained about my writing - I was about the only one that could read it. Nowadays, I print instead of write. But anyway, these books were very important to getting your crews lined back up to go on another run. Some of the people I worked with in the crew office were Benny Howard - 3rd shift...seems my good buddy Benny was always kinda grouchy when he came to work, maybe it was having to work all night long that caused that...then Tommy Jernigan - swing shift...Tommy was always on time relieving me, in fact, I caught him in the stairwell one day watching his clock until the last second of freedom before entering into the "dungeon". They always said it took a special kind of person to work the crew office. I don't know about that but I do know that once I mastered all the union contracts, that job proved to be a challenge that I truly enjoyed. Fifteen years earlier, I had a completely different perspective about the job. Funny how time has a way of changing your whole outlook on life. So, another chapter written of Working on the Railroad - My Story - and another memory of how it was growing up in Rockingham, North Carolina - a small textile town in the South in the '50s, '60s,'70s and '80s. |
| Working on the Railroad - My Story - Chapter 7 written by Joel Bailey June 23, 2009 |
| So, as the Train of Life keeps chugging along, another page written of my Memories of.... Rockingham Remembered. |
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