Until now, these stories have been mostly in sequence. But, we will suddenly remember something that would just be fun to share with you. When we jump from a story about running a train to Barstow and in the next post talk about working with Glen Campbell at Lake Tahoe, you might wonder how in the hell did a locomotive engineer mysteriously become Glen’s Stage Manager at Harrah’s Tahoe. This brief timeline will, hopefully, help you to transition between our stories as they explode out of our memories and we will continue to update this as we go!
Apr. 1955: Home from the Army. Working as a fireman for Santa Fe. Meet Dorothy.
Sep. 1956: Marry Dorothy. We have two children, Susan and Dennis.
Jan. 1958: I take a part time job as stage crew instructor at Inglewood High School but also work for Santa Fe. I.H.S. job becomes full time and I work evenings at Santa Fe which doesn’t help our marriage. We divorce in the summer of 1960. Dorothy is a lovely lady and we’ve always remained good friends.
1959: Qualified as locomotive engineer, 1st time, at Santa Fe.
Sep. 1961: I resign from I.H.S. and begin taking theatre classes at El Camino College.
Meet Susi. She has the lead in two plays and I design the stage lighting. I work evenings at Santa Fe.
Dec. 1962: Marry Susi. She performs and I design lighting at Cal State Northridge.
1965: Due to changes of the national labor agreements with the railroads, over a
hundred fireman below me on the L.A. Division are severed, leaving me ten men
from the bottom of the seniority list; with fourteen years seniority, I am worse off
than when I hired out in 1953.
Feb. 1965: Offered a position as technical instructor at Ventura College theatre. Long term, it looks better than the railroad. I accept and eventually leave Santa Fe.
Sep. 1967: Susi begins teaching drama at Santa Paula High School.
1969: We have always wanted to live in San Francisco so we resign our positions.
1970: We have job interviews; some look hopeful. On a whim, I apply for a cable car
grip man’s job; the clerk says, “You’re Crazy! It’s the hardest manual labor job in
the USA.” Susi and I do two stage shows at Kentwood Players.
June : Santa Fe crew dispatchers ask me to come back; they are short of crews. I tell them we’re moving away in the fall and they ask me to work until we leave. I
work as fireman and qualify as engineer, 2nd time. I leave Santa Fe in Sept. .
Sep. 1970: I am hired by Harrah’s Tahoe as Head Stage Technician. We move to Lake Tahoe. I design sets and lighting but mostly work as Stage Manager. Susi works as a dresser for the headliners and on wardrobe with shows that have large casts with many costume changes.
Feb. 1971: S. F. Muni Railway offers me a job as cable car grip man. I decline.
Oct. 1971: Melissa born in Reno.
1975: Harrah’s is a wonderful place to work but it is “show biz.” We miss doing “scripted plays and musicals.” Also, I miss being outside and working on the railroad.
Mar. 1977: I hire out as a Santa Fe brakeman/switchman at Barstow.
Apr. 1978: I transfer back into Santa Fe engine service as a fireman.
Apr. 1979: Qualified again as engineer, 3rd time.
Sep. 1984: Susi returns to teaching. Melissa, Susi and I do community theatre together.
1986: I transfer to Amtrak, running passenger trains only.
Jul. 1993: Melissa moves to Las Vegas to work for Steve Wynn’s Mirage Hotel
Sep. 1996: I retire early.
June 2002: Susi retires early.
Mar. 2004: We move to Sonora. We have done many stage shows in four theatres
in this area. We have both worked on the trains at Railtown State Historic Park