[PRCo] Quality people

[Harold Geissenheimer]

Greetings to all

I am amazed in these discussions about quality people.

I grew up in New York City during the depression.  Received
a good education from the then  public schools in NYC.  My
parents and I worked to send me to NYU in 1945.  ( I worked
after school starting at age 14.)

By joining the ERA and meeting railfans I was fortunate
to know many interesting and capable people.  When I
was a teenage editor of ERA Headlights, I secured
a wonderful staff.  All with different ages and qualifications.

Several remain close friends to this date.  Ray Degroote in Chicago,
Ed Schell in Baltimore, Karl Groh in Florida.  We all made a team.
Bob Saxon was a chemist and my news editor.  Bill Higinbothan
was a telegraph operator for United Press

Leader of the gang was EJay Quinby, an electrical engineer.  I
was still in high school and yet fully accepted.

Because of the depression and World War II, many people
were working "out of class".  One Colonel I served under
in the National Guard was a PC&Y locomotive engineer,
another was a railway mail clerk.  Each was a fine person
making a contribution to their country

All thru college I worked with senior people as a copy boy
for the NY Times.  When I moved to Pittsburgh I was exposed
to the wonderful people of  of western Penna.  My first job
from the NY Times was with Montour Motor Coach, 20 buses
in Moon Run, Pa.  Quite a change from Times Sq.  But some
of the best people I ever worked with.

This continued thru Harmony Short Line and in 1960, I was given
the job of saving the jobs of 100 people when Harmony folded.
I became Manager of Community Transit and worked for Dave
Brown.  A self made man..son of a coal miner in Hickory, Pa,
bus driver, union rep and then regional manager for Blue Ridge,
then founder and owner of Community Transit (with the small
fleet of ex-West Penn buses), then assistant toGM at PAT.
In each case, the man fit the job.  He often said he walked
barefoot to school

Later I worked for John Mauro.  Son of a shoemaker in Tarentum
yet the most understanding man I every worked for.  He accepted
my interest in Trolley Cars and we did the mod trolley, etc together.

Later I moved to Chicago and found an equally proficient work
force at CTA.

Getting back to the National Guard, my Nike missile unit which I
comanded for 13 years consisted of Apalacian or eastern european
men.  Many I still see.  Some like John Turyan went on to be a
high executive at Heinz or Jim Schweiger as an accounting partner.
Stan Stein became a lawyer but furst did two years of probono.

My point in all this is that I was fortunate to know people in all
walks of life.  Working together, we did a lot.

Boris never raised any issue.  He is a fine young man and it
is nice to have him here in Western Penna.,

I SUGGEST WE NOW DROP THIS ENTIRE DISCUSSION.
WELCOME TO THE LIST MARC.  ENJOY AND CONTRIBUTE.

HAROLD GEISSENHEIMER