Wednesday. March 2(C 1029.
LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER -
v
ill:
effers
of
the
. ;---:.-.. y y
i '
1 V
Vice-President of Great Railroad System
Knows the Boys by Their First Names
Xfch from Track Laborers oil Up, for
One of 'Em; Began Career Thirty-eight
Years Ago as Messenger Boy in Telegraph
7 Office and as Call Boy for Tram Crews
i J- llv Ji 1.. Ilius
"Hill Jrrfori! nf tln 1?. P.'' I. living iJie great
Aniprircwi iHlvi'ntiii' ; ho luid iu .udvuntnfce
tr lir-lnpr Ixirn pnor-nnfl luivlng-to do -h muntf
work lit fitiirii-pn. XnW hivn'lii. rhwiw of nil
Ih nimnliiiK siilo of a Krenr railroad system,
Thi,U. I- Trail .of ,tJoncr days- was tho
wrxlfrinx path of the pony )ira the cov
ered wagon. anl the t'nlon I'aclfie railroad.
It followed the-Platto river to civilization's
fde heyond which lay the (creut Northwest
Kmplre. (in that trull wan born William Mar
tin Jeffern who Is an outstanding flirure on
tho r. r. Trail of todoy -the trail of fid
vancentent and achievement with the Union
Pacific system which Is still u pioneering road
of the. west. , - ' j
We of the Pacific Northwest should know
'!lil Jeffer of the P." He knows us. As
vice president of the V. P. system he Is in
tensely interested In. the O.-W. K. K. & N.
unit and will pay uh frequent visits. Dally
w are before him on. his often consulted desk
map; and by glanrintr at his watch! he can
tell you the exact position of .scores o( frclfiht
trains which are In transit, bearing our lum
ber, our fruit, our train, cattle and other
products to market. . .And Hill Jeffers prob
.ably knows more "Jims." "Jacks," and "Joes"
Q
U,np the rlpht of nf tho IT. T lnwhn
loperullon:hv -1 trHiMl with, liiun.iiny.miin
i-jiHroiiuiny tonit.; . .. v" -i.--A
ciin't recall when" 1 -wim really -a 1oy,"
Mr. JeffeiH recently tnUl nn Interviewer. "It
rfeems to nra that I hnve alwnyM been wnrklnK
Itut rvo always liked my work anil I've yet
to fml a ilny loo lontj."
iviiHiim lartln Jeffern whm hrn at North
Platte. Neb., Jan. 2, 1876 in a little home not Jcffers BS tf boy.
fur from the tracks, rno tool oi uniiuiws mlivn eil?4( nf tho wll(I tlUl cowpunrlier town,
Cheyenne.
NiRhta n lone there winter night nn (he
rre.nt of Wynmintf'H roeky dlvMct when the
eowboya horw-H were tabled and the wind
wan the only rider niKhta when the little mii
tlon rattled and the ntnv burned hot mid
and tho tlok-tlek, tick-tick, td-k-tick of the
blc Mrur-fared clock went on and on forever
keeping a count on eternity thoae niKhtH will
never fade before the "Inward eye" of the rail
niuder rhoHp Jurisdiction now extended over
every mile of track on the Union Paclflr
Hyntem,
VounK Jeffern next bectime n elerk for the
rallroiid at North Plntte, hrindtlng time roIlN
ii nd there developed a rapacity for detail
Hunwr of bellH and the puffing ot Hwiirn
enplnea wim often hl lullaby. IIIh father wan
earning $ii.00 a month n a mechanic. In the
V. V. nhopa not a low wage for that day.
Hut then, there were nine children. Ho, with
one vear of high nchool to hi credit, young
Rill went to work with the Union Pacific
an mewenger boy in the telegraph office and
call boy for train crew. That wan In WO.
He wan fourteen yearn old. He worked twelve
hour a day. arven days a week, and got $l!0.n0
a month!
Mastered Trlefrrnphr
The old time telegrapher liked "the kid"
who never found work too hard. They taught
him ifrrr.inhv and In two yearn he could
handle hi kev with the rcat of them. In W2 work, lit atepped from that to timekeeper
he waa rewarded with the Job of night oper- and extra foreman on a uteel gang a two
utor for the railroad at II II Male. Wyo., a few 1 fiwted Job where hlx robtiMt phyalciue I he grew
to ) a 200-pound, six-footer) Htood him In
uood Htead. lie got acquainted with bunk
car life, with frying hl own hacon and egg,
with open air railroading. And then, before
he whh nineteen, they made htm train UJh
patcher. Ho had Htarted up with the V. P. . Some
how, when a hard Job needed to be done,
they Juxt naturally thought of young Hill J ef
fort. It warin't that he laid more ability than
cthei'H, but he developed hi latent ability. Jle
whh ntwaytt 1 imp per cent at work, ' s;
In X!H he niari-led a home town girl, the
daughter of a Union Pacific head Wiu-kumith.
it lookH uh if you could turn every page In
ihiK fellow'H life nud find "Union Pacific"
written on them all. The Union Pacific! ia hlH
life; and men of hla kind are tho Ufa of tho
Union Pacific. ; i r ' '
A year . paHKed and-rtho .roiul gave, htm a
hlfiger reHponHlbllily alio Job , of chief dlH
pnlcher with territory extending from North
Platte to t'heyenno and with hU train di
liatehera under him. Then In JD)5, they made
him IralnmaHter at flreen Ulver on tho Wyo
ming division with Jurisdiction over opera -tloiiH
on the road nn well aH in the office,
lie waa twenty-nine, full of the Joy of living,
happy in having a lot of work that "hud to
br. done, rlgnt."
".leff wnH a big, aggretwfve fellow, who had
no time for tho man who wun't ready to take
on I era and do hl Job well," aald an old-time
friend of that period. "They noon got to know
that when ho Ha id a thing he meant buMlncKM,
I and no man who did the right thing ever
! found a fellnw more willing to help him along
when he needed It."
1 PmmolkuiM Come Vui
!' It'a an old Ktiylng that getting kluHCH from
(a pretty girl Ik like getting olivea out of a
bottle. .The similarity lan't in the flavor but
In tho fact that you have to ntnigglo for the
flrnt oiio find the rent aren't ho hard to get,
PromotlonM are that way, loo. When fi com
pany HtartH promoting a man and ho 'pro
duce the gondn'' on each new Job, bigger pro
motions follow In rapid HuceeHHlon.
It wan that way with young Hill JefferH.
From flreen Hiver he went to Jjcnver nn traln
moater In IfOC, and in J'jOK hecamo atwlHtnnt
Hiiierlnteud nt at 'Jreen Itlver, The next yeur
he waa promoted to become mipcrlntendent of
tho divlNlon from HiiwIIiih to Ogdeu. In 11)11!
ho waa made mipcrlntendent nf tho ronKoll
dated divlNlon from Ogden to Cheyenne. On
Wanhlngton'ri birthday, HUG, ho came to Oma
ha an Hiiperlntendent of the NebniHlta divi
sion. November 1, 1 0 IIS, he became generul
rtuperlntendeiit, nud June 3, 131(1, wn made
Iteneral manager. '. '
IiHt Oct. .11 William M . .fefrera became vice
preHldeitl In ehnrgo of operation of the entire
Union Pacific nyntem, lie micceeded K. K,
Calvin, veteran operating head, who retired
on that datn,
'On Tlino" and "SnfHy Flrat" V:
i When a WuHhlngtoii fruit grower conHlgnn
IiIk car of fruit to an eitHtern point via the
Union Pacific today he UnowH It will reach Uh
deHllhalloii undamaged und on time, Jle known
that 10.000 fruit tralnM, eaMtbound, have ur
rlved In fimnha on Kchcduln without u Hlngle
train being late Mlnco 1920, He may not know,
however, tluit no one Ih more proud of thia
record than W. M. Jeffern, who haa hod great
faith In (he ability of hlH fellow em ploy en to
achieve It. Tho record Ih vigilantly guarded.
The U. P.'a telegraph "wirea would "burn up"
with ordei-N If there wan a pOHHiblllly thnt
tho Khlppcr'a fruit ear wax goiitR to arrive
late. ' ,
you have rend the newa thnt Uplon Pa
cific employeH have again won national awards
for Hafety work. The road contlnuea to rank
forcmOHt In furthering the caimo of ''Hafety
Klrat." "Illll" Jeffera devolea hln bent rffortti
tc Hafety work. With him tt Ih a enne, not of
diminishing but eliminating accident h. He
won't bo HallHfled until aecldeuta reuffe to
happen.
i'crhapH that'H hla formula for nuceeB.
Nothing Ih "good enough"- there Ih ftlwuyn a
goal ahead. And then, too, there Ih the mut
ter of thin mun'ft Helf forgctfulmxM. Jle Uvea
hie work, lie Iovch It, Jtnek In 1X01 when
he wan married he took 10 dayn off. Three
yearn ago he wan 111 for u period of three
weekri, IjikI year he took four weeks for a
trip acroHH the water Ho, roughly Hpenkiny,
you run Hay he ban had two months of vaca
tion thbt century!
That haa all tho ear marks nf real railroading.
COVE PEOPLE ' 3
RETURN FROM !
DENVER TRIP
Ily Mm. A. O. Conkltn '
.. COVK. Ore., Hpecia1 Mr, and?
kirn. C, K. l4twnon who left here)
by automobile Keb, S to vlU in
Itenver, traveled a fur h HoUe
Idaho, but found tho highways lnw
puiutable and left their cart polnsT
from there by train, Mr, Uw
kon's father, C K. lawson Hr who)
went with them, went on to Neh
raeka to vlMtt u eon. Mr, anil
Mill, 4twR0ti r3tuined. to their
home here a few days ago.
Tho Hev. and Mm. 1. 1 Hturfea
and Mrs, It. 1. Itarker attended the
tea at the home of Mrs. H. N. Ash
by in la Grande Saturday after
noon, -; . v-".; ,, ,; - , , , .vJ'$
James Og i Hie, son of Mr. aptt
Mrs. i N, Ogllvle fa employed on?
the ranch of A. A. Andornon, nean
Im Grande, ' ; .'r
Tho son born to Mr, and Mraj
T. i Hefty at the Grande ftonde
hoHpltnl Mar. 1ft has been name
onatd HuynVond and weighs six
and one-half pounds. Hoth mother
and baby are doing nicely, Churlcf
hdwurd. the four-year-old heir np-
parent of the Hefty family, is snM"
to ho very much , pleaded with his
baby brother. . ' . a
- Mrs. A. G. Conk I in was hostesa
at an Informal breakfast Htinduy'
morning. Covers were laid
eight, lieslde the hoRtena there
were, the Hev, und Mrs. P.
Ht urges, Trof. and . Mrs. C Ot
Hp ringer, Mr. and Mrs. T. It. Conk'
lln and Albert Conklln. -
Mrs, 1.. J. Chndwick entertalncil
the "Kun and Joy" bridge cluh at
her homo north of town Haturdary
afternoon. Spring flowers were .
UHed In decoration. Three tnblea
were at play. Mrs. Stewart Freiyfh
won high honors. I.unch was scr
ved after the games,
. The Ite.v. A. K, Hall who Is con
ducting a revival here at the Hap
tlHt church was called to hla hum
In Helix Friday owing to illneae In
thn family. Ho returned butt Hat
urday.' Tho revival waa carried on
by tho Uev. Mr. Howie who Is &
truest at thn home of the Hev. and
Mrs, W, Plait.
'- Mra, Cora lUoom .came home
Sunday after spending two day
with her daughter, Mira. ( Jhnv
Guley, of Union. u-i
, xy
Yamhill county for the btHt month
nn grange official work, is export
ed home thla week.
mm
First Snake Of C
Season Reported
At Summerville
By Mrs. C. I. Hale)
(Observer -Correspondent
ilini.KR. Ore. (Sprrlal) Art
other sign of spring wait encoun
tered last Jld:y when alumes
Woodell and A. Pace found a imake
st the Suinmerville cemetery. It
In Tery umiitnl for the snakes to
T come out from their winter quar
ter so early In the spring, hut Mr.
Page says that this one could trav
el with as much speed over the
enow Itanka, us over tin bare
ground. f -r
A shower was given Mrs. Chris
Hunt' last Friday afternoon at the
hnma of Mrs. . Dan Westenskow.
There jrere about 20 grown people
and in children in attendance, bur-
fin; the afternoon a program was
given consisting of several musical
numbers by Mrs. Berrtice rid wards
at the piano, and Mrs. EeHafe Wes-
Item-kow. violin. Mrs. Lucy Wes
ItenHkow gave a reading entitled
j "Lucy's Baby." Mrs. Hunt recelv
icd many beautiful end useful gifts.
.iirB. vnurm" nomm, jit, tjim nu -
lchamin.' Mrs. Alvtn Westenskow
snd Mrs. P. If. Weetenskow acted
-Us homesses and served refrewh
menta diirine the afternoon.
I Wins Merle Krinell. of Plsnnt
j.G rove, came over Sunday and vlp-
.Ifed at the Frank McKennon borne,
j Wra. Ratlt Hudaon end children.
Beta. Oordon and Colleen, of Jos
eph, motored over Friday, spend
ing the weekend with Mrs. Hud
son's parents.
Mrs. Alvin Westenskow, Mrs.
Iun Weatenekow, Mrs. Harvey
CroWMcr and .Mrs. Otis Buchanan
were shopping in I-'i Orande laM
Saturday. While In town they
stopped lit the firande Bonde hos
pital, calling on their friend, Mrs.
Willi:. in Furman. Mrs. Thomas.
Mrs. Leo Perry. Mrs. Pat Bolllns
and Ifalbert Bolllns. all of whom
are patients at the hospital,
I Mrs.. I eo Perry was brought
home from the hospital Sunday.
j While eortvaleirng he will be at
the home of her mother. Mrs. Hone
Gam. ' ' .
Bupi'mal services of the Infant
ton of Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Fox
iwere held lnt Sunday at the Meth
lodlnt church. The ha by was chrls
jtened Havid Klmer. Mr. Fox fill
jed tho pulpit here Sunday morn
ing in his father's place. He Is
pastor at Jordan V.ltey.
In honor of her daughter Don
na'a tenth birthday anniversary.
with a eurprle partv Inviting Ih
jinerabera of the fourth grade , and
. iheir teacher, Miss Audrey HeLJip,
An guest h. Befreshrnenta of lee
cream and cake were served.
H. C. Johnston, of Sunmiervllte,
is seriously III nt the home of Jits
!d.iuchter, Mrs. Vcf Frlzzell, Mr.
I Johnston Is a ptorfer of the Vfl'l
ley. .".'7;,
. Mrs. -Josle .Day, ot La Orande,
was visiting friends i here last
Thursday. Hit expects soon to go
to Ixis Angeles for a visit with her
daughter.
filen I ed hotter, who Is home
from Wlllumette university, for the
spring vacation, was calling on
friends In Imbler Monday,
Lee Oreyblll and family are mov
ing to Imbler. Mr. Oreyblll will
wot k on the section. He Is also
a minister and expects to conduct
services at the Union church. Mr.
Oreyblll is a brother of Mrs. B.
M. McCoy nnd Mrs. Charles Me
Fall. Mis Portia Westenskow who Is
teaching at Muddy Creek, spent the
wcekeyuj here with her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. William Weatenskow.
The Woman'a cluh of Imbler met
last Wednesday at the home of
Mrs. Irvln Westenskow. Mrs. Wil
fred Westemtkow hd charge f
the program which was Vlteadluy
In tho Home." The next meeting
1 will be Mar. 27 at the home or Mrs.
'CharlcH Kennon, where they will
Uakn up the subject of "Music In
f tho Home."
Liberty Sunday
j School Re-Opened
By Mrs. Charles Spencer
(Observer Correspondent)
OKAXOI3 II ALL (Special) Lib
erty Sunday school, which was dis
continued during the early part nf
I the winter because of weather con
'dlilons, was resumed the first Hun
day In March. Krnesl Deling Is
superintendent of the orgnnlKallnn.
V .Mis Dorothy Kuiutz, student nt
ihft state imrniiil a-hoo) at Mon
mouth la expected home to spend
the spring vacntfon.
I-Zd Dunn has accepted a posi
tion at the C. L. It role farm.
Carl and Waller Solders, of
Weiser. Ida., nrrlvrd Sunday eve
ning and will spend a few days
at the home of their slaters, Mrs.
Willis Smith and Mrs. Thomas Mc
comb. '
The IJherty parent-teacher meet
ing will be held next Friday eve
Jning at the school house. Mrs.
I Bert Grout, the president, on
nouncea that h A. Kayre, county
school superintendent und Wrny
Ijtwrence, acling county tig rut, will
be preaent.
Mr. and Mrs, Clarence Redhead,
and son, Bobert, of Im Grande,
were visitors Sunday nt the home
of Mrs. , Itedhciid'M mother, Mil.
Udlth flekeler. ;
Itoy Uukeler, who has teen In
Jr ovep-38 ;
Baking BavyDni
Guaranteed Pure
. Use KC for fine texture .
and large volume J
in your bakings
Millions ot pounds iu4
by our Government
Hardwood
Floors
This is a good time of
year to lay that oak floor
you have been planning
on. We have several 'dif-
feicnt . grades, in oak,
mnnlo and beech. V
YanPetten
Lumber Co.
Phone Main Til -;
, "Good Canto Quick" :, .