Selected pages from the Oral History Project Report
KY Oral History Commission (KOHC)
KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
KENTUCKY ORAL HISTORY COMMISSION
African American Illinois Central Workers of the Fulton Kentucky Railroad Station Project
Ordinary People Making Extraordinary Differences
African American Illinois Central Workers of
the Fulton KY Railroad Station
From its inception, thousands of African Americans worked for the nation’s railroads
and changed history.
At one time, the Illinois Central Railroad was one of the nation’s
greatest employers of African Americans.
As well, at one time, as many as thirty trains a day
passed through Fulton Kentucky.
Certainly, the stories of the African American Illinois Central Workers of the Historic Fulton KY Railroad Station have earned a mark on that important page of History.
The African American Illinois Central Workers of the Historic Fulton KY Railroad Station Oral History Project is a series of ten interviews to be archived by the Kentucky Oral History Commission. The series focuses on the everyday lives of the African American Illinois Central Workers of the Historic Fulton KY Railroad Station. The 1940 -1970 heyday of the railroad is the primary era of interest for the project, though some of the subjects began their work on the railroad, earlier and some later.
My father, Gus Holderness’ 1940s work as a dining car waiter with the Illinois Central Railroad in Fulton Kentucky always seemed interesting and became the focus of the project and of my 2004 retirement return from Colorado to Fulton. Special thanks for support and assistance with the project are extended most abundantly to the interviewees and their families, the Kentucky Oral History Commission, gracious friends, and the community of Fulton. George Chambers, Interviewer, Corine Harber, Paducah’s Blacks and the Railroad article, J. Cruce, R. Ainley, J. Gamblin, The Twin Cities Railroad Museum, Joan and Don Livingston, Fulton County Genealogical Society, Mike Farmer, Fulton KY Online News, Beth Jones, author, Images of America: FULTON, and Beth Mc Whirt, Hometown Magazine. Gratitude is extended most especially for the research of Robert Vanderford, John Algee, TD Morris and many others; and for the assistance of Helen Lee, Carolyn Garmon and Sheryl Thomas, and for the video and DVD work of Patrick Farmer and Shelby Jones.
Please note, this project is a labor of appreciation and not necessarily of scholarship. Omissions, typos and misprints, though deeply dreaded, will certainly be found. Corrections (submitted in writing only, please) will be greatly appreciated.
Linda Holderness Bradford, PhD
Project Director
Fulton Kentucky
270-472-3773
[email protected]
November 2009
__________________________________________________________________________
Oral History Project
Themes and Discussion
Ordinary Men Who Did an Extraordinary Thing
“Pullman porters provided service and tended to the needs of travelers from coast to coast, noted Amtrak spokesman Hank Ernest. Their work schedules were grueling. On meager salaries and tips, they raised families and sent their children to college. They worked hard under extreme conditions but always treated customers like royalty. They were proud men.
It was hard work, Rollins said, but it had a lot of freedom and class.
Along with physicians and lawyers, said Lyn Hughes, Director of the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum in Chicago, porters and dining car waiters were the foundation of the emerging black middle class. Even though they made little money in terms of salaries, she said, they owned property, owned cars. They had telephones and televisions when they came about; they owned wonderful china; the trappings of the middle class. And they believed strongly in education. They shared one common thing: the power of purpose.
Hughes, noted that Pullman porters benefited from membership in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters—founded by Randolph in 1925. The group was the first black union to sign a contract with a major company.
Black trainmen commanded respect. Well-traveled and sharp dressers, they shared their sophistication with townsfolk on their routes. For many Southern blacks, the porters and waiters were proof of a relatively better life in the North.
[Racism was a reality of the time and]… at times the Pullman organization, itself, was complicit in racism.
[Railroad work was highly valued and) …when Rollins joined the railroad, friends warned that waiters and porters never left the trade.
…They were ordinary men who did an extraordinary thing," Hughes said. "No one told them they had to be the best, or do their best it was self-pride."
Excerpt: 2009 interview: WHO IS Frank Rollins
http://www.dioceseofbmt.org/africanamerican/content/newsletter/habari-ganijune09.pdf
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Themes and Discussion
Ms. Hughes, of the preceding interview with Mr. Rollins, is frequently quoted in discussions and writings on African American Railroad workers. She speaks primarily of porters and often references waiters and cooks acknowledging that in the earliest days of the railroad they were often one and the same.
Based on the informal readings of my growing interest over the past years, and the oral history interviews of this project, the content of the dialogue in the article succinctly summarizes the main points of contemporary interest in African American Railroad Workers.
As for the African American Illinois Central Workers of the Fulton Kentucky Railroad Station (AAICWFKRS) Project, the points mentioned for the porters and waiters are easily applicable not only to our waiter and cook subjects (there are no porters); but also appear easily applicable to our other categories of workers (conductors, engineers, section, station, commissary and roundhouse) as well: and direct relationships between the article and the interviews are most clearly noted in those main points.
In our interviews the article’s mention of middle class trappings is exampled (among others) by Mr. Chambers’,( son of dining car waiter Paul Chambers), talk of a growing -up lifestyle that allowed for (among other things), a progression in keeping with the times, from ice chest to ice box to refrigerator. The strong education orientation is evidenced through the mention of the many college degreed professionally successful children of the interview subjects. The idea of the respect commanded in the African American community by the train men comes through strongly and repeatedly though out the discussions and the men’s reputation as sophisticated and sharp dressers is mentioned frequently.
However, as reflected in the article, popular and academic literature, strong family orientation and love of the job are, as well, the overriding themes of the interviews.
PROJECT FOCUS
Ordinary People Making Extraordinary Differences
From the beginning and through the years, in the face of adversity and racial prejudice, African American Railroad Workers confronted slavery, challenged Jim Crow Laws, created the first labor union for African Americans, helped build the civil rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s, helped form the foundation for the here- to fore none existent black middle class, and exemplified the possibility of new upward mobility for blacks.
These ten oral history interviews focus on the everyday lives of the African American Illinois Central workers of the Fulton Kentucky Railroad Station.
Key Words: Railroad Work, Family, Community , Racism
THE INTERVIEWS
1. Interview questions focused on the themes of:
Railroad Work, Family, Community and Racism.
2. A copy of the Questionnaire follows this discussion.
3. The interviewee is the person that is speaking. They may be the actual worker or
may be an adult family member speaking for a deceased worker.
4. The subject of the interview is the actual worker.
5. Railroad workers and family members were identified by community word of
mouth and invited to participate in the interviews.
6. Interviews were conducted from July 2009 through November 2009.
7. The locations of the interviews were:
The Twin Cities Railroad Museum (So. Fulton TN) and Fulton City Hall (Fulton, KY).
Selected pages of the project report follow and include: The Table of Content, Interviewees, Subjects, Questionnaire, Common Themes, Fulton Themes, Snap shot explorations for the topics of Work, Family, Community, Racism, Unions and the also mentioned topics of the Cairo Bridge, Chicago, Paducah and Bluford. _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Table of Content
Interviewees
1 John “Pete” Algee Station /Yard/Train Master & Engineer 2 Linda Holderness Bradford For Gus E Holderness, Head Waiter 3 George Chambers For Paul Chambers, Head Waiters 4 Dorothy Jackson For Albert “AK” Hardiman & Mary (Rose) Hardiman Head Waiter and Commissary Worker 5 James H Johnson Sr. Conductor 6 Edgar Johnson Conductor 7 Percy Lee Head Chef 8 Henry “Dino” Minor Section Worker 9 Thomas Rogers For Treasure Rogers, Lee Thomas Rogers, Annie Mae Rogers & Bonnie Rogers, Cooks, Commissary Worker and Section Worker 10 Thomas Saxon Section Worker Theme Supplements: The Union and Racism Also Mentioned: The Cairo Bridge, and Chicago’s 12th Street Station Video Picture Board Photos Associated Workers of the Fulton Kentucky Station Will Clark, Section Worker, Alfonzo and Lelia Mae Drew, Cook and Commissary Workers, Herbert "Hoo Rally" Johnson, Station Worker, TD Morris, Roundhouse LO Morris, Roundhouse, Richard Morris, Roundhouse, Willie B. Sykes, Dining Car Steward, Robert Vanderford, Conductor, Harvey Vick, Dining Car Steward, Guy Williams, Cook. Back Stories The Illinois Central Railroad, Fulton Kentucky & the Fulton Kentucky Station Favorite Trains, Railroad Occupations Special Supplement Paducah KY and Paducah’s African America Railroad Workers Appendix Wallace Saunders’, The Ballad of Casey Jones The AAICWFKRSP Director Film & Recommended Reading List Black History Month Ken- Tenn Community Forum Group Photo |
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INTERVIEWEES
Pictures, Stories & Supplements
1
John “Pete” Algee
Station /Yard/Train Master & Engineer
2
Linda Holderness Bradford with discussion from sisters:
Lawanda Holderness, Sandra Holderness Gise and Debra Holderness
For Gus E Holderness, Head Waiter
3
George Chambers
For father Paul Chambers, Head Waiters, with discussion uncle, Hall Chambers
4
Dorothy Jackson
For parents Albert “AK” Hardiman & Mary (Rose) Hardiman
Head Waiter and Commissary Worker
5
Edgar Johnson
Conductor with discussion of grandfather David Hunter, Section Worker
6
James H Johnson Sr.
Conductor with discussion of father
AT Johnson, grandparents Aaron Morris and Elizabeth Morris. Station and Roundhouse Workers
7
Percy Lee
Head Waiter
8
Henry Dino Minor
Section Worker with discussion of father John Henry Minor and brother William Minor. Section Workers
9
Thomas Rogers
For Treasure Rogers, Lee Thomas Rogers, Annie Mae Rogers & Bonnie Rogers. Cooks, Commissary Worker and Section Worker
10
Thomas Saxon
Section Worker
__________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
Kentucky Oral History Commission
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN WORKERS of the
HISTORIC FULTON KY RAILROAD STATION PROJECT
INTERVIEW FORM
1 Name ___________ ____________
2 Position Held
3 Railroad Line
4 Trains worked
5 Routes
6 Years Worked
7 Where did you live while working on the railroad.
8 Was he born here in Fulton, is Fulton his hometown?
9 What kind of work did his father do?
10 What was his name? What is your strongest memory of his dad?
11 Did his mother work outside of the home?
12 What was her name? What is your warmest memory of his mom?
13 What schools did he attend?
14 Elementary, High and College?
15 How did he meet his wife? Tell me about his spouse children and family.
16 What church did he attend and what community service do he enjoy?
17 What was his typical day like after retirement or when he was off?
18 What was his typical day like when he worked on the railroad?
19 Tell me about his work and why he chose to work for the railroad?
20 What did he like best about the railroad?
21 What did he like least about the railroad?
22 What’s your funniest memory of him and his work or just of him?
23 What’s your saddest memory of him?
24 Is there anything he would wish he could do over again?
25 Tell me about a memorable moment in his work that you will never forget.
26 What’s the greatest change he’d seen or experienced with the railroad?
27 What is something that you are really proud about him of and why?
28 When people look back at his railroad career, how does he want to be remembered?
29 What other jobs did he worked and which was his favorite?
30 Is there anything you’d like to add that I didn’t ask about?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Theme Exploration in the Interviews
The Illinois Central provided work for larger numbers of African Americans in the nation that any
other employer. Such was certainly the case for Fulton Kentucky. To borrow and revise a phrase (“Scratch any famous African American and you’ll find a train barreling through.”):
“Scratch the surface of any Fulton African American and it’s
very likely you‘ll find a train barreling through.”
Overall, in the interviews, working for the Illinois Central Railroad was described as desired, coveted, well paying, hard work, with penalty of being away from families too often, poor accommodations, sleeping sitting up and encounters with difficult people.
There was a common appreciation for the opportunity of working for the railroad. Subjects loved the railroad and loved the job and in general wished they could have worker longer; but the change from ICRR to Amtrak was not viewed favorably.
Discussions of actual work task were included but extremely limited.
Family
Conductor Johnson (low rt) w/ father and grandparents
Family devotion was an anticipated theme and was included in the planned questions. It was discussed, without fail, by each interviewee and was displayed in stories of men who went to work at very young ages, often forgoing school, to support wives, children, and parents; long marriages and testimonies from the adult children of workers.
Many of the subjects had other railroad workers in the family and one (pictured) was third generation railroader. The Families of railroad men were proud and allowed privileges that would not likely have been available without the work of the railroad. And the success of the children of the interview subjects collaborated the contention of the literature that railroad men valued education and contributed heavily to development of a powerful black middle class.
Community
Admired, respected and contributing, true to the heavy religious focus of the area most subjects were active in their churches; and a few in civic and social groups. For the trainmen no mention was made of their travels interfering with their community commitments though it does seem – as one might expect- involvement was more limited before retirement and increased afterwards. And generally known but mentioned in only one of the interviews, some like Percy Lee were noted civil rights activist.
Aside from the church and civic communities. Many were known, after a hard day’s work or upon returning from a run, to support the entertainment endeavors of the “Front.” The Front, Fulton’s early and very popular night club strip could easily be seen by station workers and arriving trains as it beckoned brightly right down the hill from the station.
Aside from the church and civic communities. Many were known, after a hard day’s work or upon returning from a run, to support the entertainment endeavors of the “Front.” The Front, Fulton’s early and very popular night club strip could easily be seen by station workers and arriving trains as it beckoned brightly right down the hill from the station.
Racism
Discussions of racism are abundant in informal reviews of the literature and in everyday casual conversations (now and in my childhood memories of my father and his friends). Evident in early Jim Crow laws (see supplements) the theme of racism with the railroad is pervasive in museum “colored waiting room” signs and “colored” designated passenger car blueprints and diagrams; during my time and to some degree the time of most of the subjects. Racial concerns were acknowledged in some of the interview discussions of both past and current work; but not to the extent of the expectations as set by my readings and earlier experience. Two examples that matched my expectations were however, given by Mr. Lee for the men of the dining car. In the first, Mr. Lee spoke of the 1940s required curtain (partition) that divided white dining customers from Black and in the second, in an earlier written interview, of the “pre-dormitory” Possum Bottom cots.
Along the same line, a number of sources note the lack of appropriate sleeping arrangements for the men whose work kept them on the train through the night. While my father would simply find an open passenger seat and doze, off and on, a bit, others slept sitting up in the club car but most seemed to have used the early “Possum Bottom cots,” as described by Mr. Lee:
Before they had rail cars with dormitories, the sleeping arrangements were makeshift "In some of the older diners, you slept right in the dining car. You'd move the tables and chairs, peel back the rug and pull up the floorboards to get the mattresses and blankets stored there. There was a wire that ran from one end of the diner to the next and we'd put curtains up, and that would be how we slept."
And as discussed in an internet article:
“We would work all day long and after serving the last meal for the day we would have to tear the dining car down, put the chairs in the pantry or some other place, and then make the car down into sleeping quarters. The next morning we’d get up and set the car back in shape and be ready to serve breakfast by 6:30 in the morning. Those were not only bad working conditions, it wasn’t very sanitary to eat and sleep in the same place.”
(http://www.dioceseofbmt.org/africanamerican/content/newsletter/habari-gani-june09.pdf)
Segregated Train Blueprint: Twin Cities Museum So. Fulton TN
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Jim Crow Law
Law that enforced racial segregation in the U.S. South between 1877 and the 1950s. The term, taken from a minstrel-show routine, became a derogatory epithet for African Americans. After Reconstruction, Southern legislatures passed laws requiring segregation of whites and "persons of colour" on public transportation. These later extended to schools, restaurants, and other public places. In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education; later rulings struck down other Jim Crow laws.
The demise of explicitly discriminatory laws, however, was only one giant step on the unfinished journey toward racial equality. US History Encyclopedia: Jim Crow Laws http://www.answers.com/topic/jim-crow-law
Along the same line, a number of sources note the lack of appropriate sleeping arrangements for the men whose work kept them on the train through the night. While my father would simply find an open passenger seat and doze, off and on, a bit, others slept sitting up in the club car but most seemed to have used the early “Possum Bottom cots,” as described by Mr. Lee:
Before they had rail cars with dormitories, the sleeping arrangements were makeshift "In some of the older diners, you slept right in the dining car. You'd move the tables and chairs, peel back the rug and pull up the floorboards to get the mattresses and blankets stored there. There was a wire that ran from one end of the diner to the next and we'd put curtains up, and that would be how we slept."
And as discussed in an internet article:
“We would work all day long and after serving the last meal for the day we would have to tear the dining car down, put the chairs in the pantry or some other place, and then make the car down into sleeping quarters. The next morning we’d get up and set the car back in shape and be ready to serve breakfast by 6:30 in the morning. Those were not only bad working conditions, it wasn’t very sanitary to eat and sleep in the same place.”
(http://www.dioceseofbmt.org/africanamerican/content/newsletter/habari-gani-june09.pdf)
Segregated Train Blueprint: Twin Cities Museum So. Fulton TN
_______________________________________________________________________
Jim Crow Law
Law that enforced racial segregation in the U.S. South between 1877 and the 1950s. The term, taken from a minstrel-show routine, became a derogatory epithet for African Americans. After Reconstruction, Southern legislatures passed laws requiring segregation of whites and "persons of colour" on public transportation. These later extended to schools, restaurants, and other public places. In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education; later rulings struck down other Jim Crow laws.
The demise of explicitly discriminatory laws, however, was only one giant step on the unfinished journey toward racial equality. US History Encyclopedia: Jim Crow Laws http://www.answers.com/topic/jim-crow-law
Unions
Fight or Be Slaves: Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters
In addition to the secondary themes (middle class lives, education, sharp dressers) and the primary themes (work, family, community and racism), a direct question was asked about the union. The railroad is involved with a number of unions but the earliest and most impactful for Blacks appears to have been the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. BSCP and it was known, was founded in 1925, a time span that would apply to all interview subjects. My father was not especially fond of it (being a republican may have played a part in that); and little mention was made or interest shown for it’s specialness by the other subjects. From the internet, I’ve attached a1972 interview with a dining car waiter, Fred Smith, retired railroad worker, that worked 1930-60’s. The interview seems to speak to what I would have though would have been the union “working climate”’ of the time.
Subjects that belong to other unions, i.e. conductors spoke positively of their unions.
THE UNION
Interview with Fred Smith, Retired Illinois Central Dining Car Waiter
The Movement Led by A. Philip Randolph
In this photo, courtesy of the Twin Cities RR Museum, Fulton railroaders with union rep.
1.Leighman Ware, 2.Wardell (Sonny Boy) Maddox, 3. C.R Copeland (ICRR Union Steward), 4. James Ware, 5. Zeb Morris.
Also Mentioned in the interviews ….
The Cairo Bridge
Built in 1937 (Total length 5,863.7 feet, Width, 20 feet, Vertical clearance 19.6 feet); the Cairo bridge spans the Ohio River between Cairo, Illinois and Wickliffe, Kentucky. It is a major north - south bridge for Illinois Central trains. It was mentioned in almost all of the interviews. No one in the interviews seemed to approach it neutrally. Most train workers (passengers as well) have a thought, feeling or opinion about the bridge so I’ve included a picture in the appendix. It is also the “Jim Crow” bridge, where before integration Black passengers traveling south from Chicago would have to move from integrated to “colored” cars before entering Kentucky.
The 12th Street Station in Chicago
Also included is a picture of Chicago’s 12th Street Railroad Station. Though not especially pertinent to the interviews, a number of interviewees mentioned it and I thought the visual would be interesting.
Paducah KY
Paducah is one hour’s drive from Fulton. Some workers work in Paducah but live in Fulton and vice versa.
I was given a copy of a project similar to this but about Paducah Railroad Workers; and the author has given permission to include it. It’s very interesting with a good narrative on the railroad history of the area.
Bluford, IL
Passenger train workers spoken most often of Chicago and freight train workers of Bluford, a major switching yard for train from and through Fulton. As noted in the linked internet article.
Bluford IL & The Railroad
In 1928 the railroad constructed a cutoff line between Edgewood, IL and Fulton, KY to bypass congestion at Cairo, the waist of its system. The Bluford Switching Yard, at Bluford, IL, was the hub of the Edgewood cut-off line and activities. The Bluford Yard was active for over 40 years, closing in 1969. The other railroad in Bluford was the Southern RR and it was there long before the ICRR. They say it was originally the "Air Lines" RR, then later was the Southern. It went east/west and had a depot right in the heart of downtown Bluford." (added 5/11 not included in original archived materials)
Bluford IL & The Railroad
In 1928 the railroad constructed a cutoff line between Edgewood, IL and Fulton, KY to bypass congestion at Cairo, the waist of its system. The Bluford Switching Yard, at Bluford, IL, was the hub of the Edgewood cut-off line and activities. The Bluford Yard was active for over 40 years, closing in 1969. The other railroad in Bluford was the Southern RR and it was there long before the ICRR. They say it was originally the "Air Lines" RR, then later was the Southern. It went east/west and had a depot right in the heart of downtown Bluford." (added 5/11 not included in original archived materials)
In closing, the purpose of the project was to gather the stories of some of Fulton’s railroad workers before all the people and all the trains are forever gone. That done, the experience of the project was heartwarming and fulfilling. The community of Fulton tells me they appreciate my undertaking and value it as a piece of the community’s history. I hope to share the results with them in a mini documentary composed of individual segments of the ten interviews.
As for the traditional research project question: “What would you do differently?”… Well, if I were to do this project over again I would probably formalize it and refine the specifics of the objectives – maybe do a scholarly bibliography. As far as what to study next, wrecks and derailments, a typical work day from day break to midnight for each occupation, there were stories of two or three men dying (non accidentals) at work, as did my dad, I wonder how that compares to other industries,…. there was an interesting blur of special father –daughter relationships for trainmen, waiters in particular (my family among them). There’s lot to be explored and with last summer’s National Train Day Salute to Porters (and Waiters and Cooks) hopefully an invigorated interest is afoot and the gauntlet will be passed.
Linda Holderness Bradford
Project Director
November 2009
As for the traditional research project question: “What would you do differently?”… Well, if I were to do this project over again I would probably formalize it and refine the specifics of the objectives – maybe do a scholarly bibliography. As far as what to study next, wrecks and derailments, a typical work day from day break to midnight for each occupation, there were stories of two or three men dying (non accidentals) at work, as did my dad, I wonder how that compares to other industries,…. there was an interesting blur of special father –daughter relationships for trainmen, waiters in particular (my family among them). There’s lot to be explored and with last summer’s National Train Day Salute to Porters (and Waiters and Cooks) hopefully an invigorated interest is afoot and the gauntlet will be passed.
Linda Holderness Bradford
Project Director
November 2009
KENTUCKY ORAL HISTORY COMMISSION PROJECT
African American Illinois Central Workers of the Fulton Kentucky Railroad Station
Project Bios
PROJECTOR DIRECTOR and INTERVIEWER
Dr. Linda Holderness Bradford is a retired professor who taught university, college and community college psychology courses for over 25 years. She emphasizes that she is a teacher and not a therapist and continues to teach Colorado online psychology courses while living in Fulton Kentucky. She also writes a monthly online column, Everyday Psychology, for FultonKYnews.com, and volunteers as Photography Exhibits curator for the Twin Cities Railroad Museum.
Some years ago, her mother and sister showed her an article about The A. Phillip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum in Chicago. Admiration for the work of museum director Lyn Hughes and Dr. Bradford’s affection for her father and his work as a dining car waiter, whetted her interest and inspired the creation of the African American Illinois Central Workers of the Fulton Kentucky Railroad Station (AAICWFKRS) undertaking. In addition to the Oral History Project, a book about dining car waiters and mini documentary is planned. Her findings (with initial publication of worker photos and stories) were presented as part of the Ken Tenn Community Forum’s 2009 African American History Program and with John Algee, project coordinator, presented to the Fulton County Genealogical Society. The initial findings have been greatly expanded by the Oral History Interviews and supplements; and will be presented to the Paducah Kentucky Railroad Museum February 2010 and to the So Fulton TN Twin Cities Railroad Museum, Spring 2010. A local magazine article, about her interests, is attached at the end of the supplements’ document.
Project Bios
PROJECTOR DIRECTOR and INTERVIEWER
Dr. Linda Holderness Bradford is a retired professor who taught university, college and community college psychology courses for over 25 years. She emphasizes that she is a teacher and not a therapist and continues to teach Colorado online psychology courses while living in Fulton Kentucky. She also writes a monthly online column, Everyday Psychology, for FultonKYnews.com, and volunteers as Photography Exhibits curator for the Twin Cities Railroad Museum.
Some years ago, her mother and sister showed her an article about The A. Phillip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum in Chicago. Admiration for the work of museum director Lyn Hughes and Dr. Bradford’s affection for her father and his work as a dining car waiter, whetted her interest and inspired the creation of the African American Illinois Central Workers of the Fulton Kentucky Railroad Station (AAICWFKRS) undertaking. In addition to the Oral History Project, a book about dining car waiters and mini documentary is planned. Her findings (with initial publication of worker photos and stories) were presented as part of the Ken Tenn Community Forum’s 2009 African American History Program and with John Algee, project coordinator, presented to the Fulton County Genealogical Society. The initial findings have been greatly expanded by the Oral History Interviews and supplements; and will be presented to the Paducah Kentucky Railroad Museum February 2010 and to the So Fulton TN Twin Cities Railroad Museum, Spring 2010. A local magazine article, about her interests, is attached at the end of the supplements’ document.
PROJECT COORDINATOR
John “Pete” Algee, is a retired Engineer, Train Master, Yard Master, Brakeman, and Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers. From November 1976 through July 2007, he worked consecutively for the Illinois Central and the Canadian National Railroad. Born and raised in Fulton, while working for the railroads he lived in, among others, Centralia, Champaign and Memphis and has now returned to So Fulton TN to retire.
He and his brother, Michael Algee, were the first Black train engineers in the area and he, the first Black Train Master. His father, like Bradford’s, was a dining car waiter. Algee is familiar with the town, the railroad history and it’s workers; and among memberships on a myriad of volunteer boards, he is a standing member of the Twin Cities Railroad Museum Board. He was asked so often to provide memorabilia and expertise during AAICWFKRS presentations that he decided to volunteer as coordinator. Bradford describes his contributions as immeasurable and his expertise as invaluable to the success of the project. Algee’s personal railroad story is included in the interviewee oral histories and photos are included near the front of the supplements’ document.
A KENTUCKY ORAL HISTORY COMMISSION PROJECT
John “Pete” Algee, is a retired Engineer, Train Master, Yard Master, Brakeman, and Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers. From November 1976 through July 2007, he worked consecutively for the Illinois Central and the Canadian National Railroad. Born and raised in Fulton, while working for the railroads he lived in, among others, Centralia, Champaign and Memphis and has now returned to So Fulton TN to retire.
He and his brother, Michael Algee, were the first Black train engineers in the area and he, the first Black Train Master. His father, like Bradford’s, was a dining car waiter. Algee is familiar with the town, the railroad history and it’s workers; and among memberships on a myriad of volunteer boards, he is a standing member of the Twin Cities Railroad Museum Board. He was asked so often to provide memorabilia and expertise during AAICWFKRS presentations that he decided to volunteer as coordinator. Bradford describes his contributions as immeasurable and his expertise as invaluable to the success of the project. Algee’s personal railroad story is included in the interviewee oral histories and photos are included near the front of the supplements’ document.
A KENTUCKY ORAL HISTORY COMMISSION PROJECT
Kentucky Oral History Commission Projects Across Kentucky
African American Illinois Central Workers of the Historic Fulton Kentucky Railroad Station Project - This project will provide technical support for interviews with surviving African American workers/famiies of the Illinois Central Railroad from the Fulton, Kentucky railroad station.
African American Illinois Central Workers of the Historic Fulton Kentucky Railroad Station Project - This project will provide technical support for interviews with surviving African American workers/famiies of the Illinois Central Railroad from the Fulton, Kentucky railroad station.