Powering UP - Softcover

Ann Milton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 097636767X ISBN 13: 9780976367673

Publisher: Odd Duck Press, 2011

Synopsis

Powering UP is a history of the women of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1908 to 2011 at Bailey Yard in North Platte, Nebraska.
Section I tells of the women of WWI and the positions they filled when the men were called to fight in the war. Telephone operators, crew callers, store department workers, timekeepers and clerks, they kept the railroad running. One woman, Florence Stamp, continued to work even after the men returned and was the first women to retire from Bailey Yard.
Section II tells of the women who hired on during WWII and the jobs they did. The first women in management appears in this era. There are interviews with those still living and over 50 photographs taken by Marjorie Taylor. She was a railroading woman who loved photography and shot photos of her companions at work. These pictures provide a historical record that words cannot match.
Section III includes interviews with the women hired during the affirmative action years and how that policy affected their lives. The first women engineers tell how they felt as they pulled out of the Yard and headed down the tracks. They share stories of both thrills and disasters, as well as how they dealt with prevailing attitudes toward women in the cabs of locomotives.
Section IV contains stories of the women of today speaking their minds about how it is to be female and employed in a still mostly male environment. Women still do the jobs of firemen and oilers as they did in the 1900s but now they also tell us how it is to be carmen, medical personnel, corridor managers and operators of remote control locomotives.
Many of the women interviewed shared photos taken when they worked for Union Pacific. The back cover features a picture of past and present Union Pacific employees gathered to celebrate together and, in many cases, renew old friendships.
Interwoven among the women's accounts is a history of the events and laws depicting the attitude and atmosphere of the country as more women began to work outside the home. A timeline interleaves world events, Bailey Yard happenings and North Platte history. Stories of the old roundhouse, Pacific Fruit Express and the progress of communication between engineers and station agents is included.
Interviews with two women who had careers as telegraphers tell of the excitement of working in the early years when telegraph messages had to be interpreted with accuracy and then handed up with an order loop to the engineer as the train went speeding by.
All of these women had a story to tell and they told it well. If you enjoy history, particularly history told by those who lived it, you will enjoy this book.

About this title

About the Author

Ann Milton began her writing career as a children's author. Her first book, Ask Me If I'm A Frog is an interactive science book that children enjoy because it compares their body to that of a frog.

She decided to write Powering UP as a way of honoring the women of the Union Pacific during the 2011 Rail Fest held in North Platte, Nebraska. Using a video camera, she recorded the women, then transcribed and edited their stories. The women were so entertaining and edifying, it was difficult to cut anything they said. Talking to people who are so open about their lives and their feelings was an honor. I thought that sooner or later I'd begin to hear much the same thing, but it never happened. Every story was touching and unique. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to write this book.

Edition details

• Publisher: Odd Duck Press
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 097636767X
• ISBN 13: 9780976367673
• Binding: Perfect Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 120
• Editor: Hope Hunt