Kan., shot his wife and then killed himself. It is thought the woman may live.” It closes with this odd note: “Both are gray-haired and aged persons.” Alton, Pennsylvania: A report appeared
in the Logansport [Ind.] Chronicle of May 1, 1886, noting that on April 26 of that year a fire broke out in a railroad boarding house “near the famous Kinzua Viaduct” in which “six Italian laborers lost their lives, and two others were seriously scorched.” Slaton, Texas: The Lubbock Ava- lanche-Journal of February 29, 1976, de- scribes a 1976 Souvenir Cook Book, published to celebrate the bicentennial of ATSF-division point Slaton, Texas. It notes that the cook book provides the recipe for a favorite — Chi- nese dumplings — served in a 19th century railroad boarding house in Dodge City, Kan. It doesn’t mention whether it was the Harvey House in Dodge City or not. Note: If a reader has the cookbook and can send the recipe, see my email address below. Racine, Wisconsin: Under an eye-catching
but misleading headline — “Many Near Death in Portage Fire” — the Racine Journal-News on April 5, 1912, told of ten persons narrowly escaping death from a fire that broke out early that day “in a railroad boarding house operat- ed by a Mrs. Slowey. Two guests, Henry Nu- gent and John Amend of Milwaukee, jumped from the second story and were seriously, though not fatally hurt. Mrs. Slowey and an- other woman were rendered unconscious from smoke and were carried from the building.
Six other occupants of the house were slightly hurt in making their escape.” At this point I was only through 50 of the
608 articles the search produced. Many of them are short notices, often of tragedy or vi- olence. The sum of the reading experience, however, is to gain an appreciation for how widespread and commonly integrated into railroad culture the boarding house experi- ence was. And on that note, before departing, consider these two entries. They point to a not uncommon adjustment made by railroad widows, of which there were many. And they return our attention to Elizabeth Shade Ken- nedy, whose recipes are collected in the book that opens this column: Altoona, Pennsylvania: The Classified Advertising section (remember those) of the Altoona Mirror of November 21, 1945, noti- fied readers of a “Railroad Boarding House” at 730 2nd Avenue in Juniata being for sale. “This house,” it states, “goes completely fur- nished, seven rooms, bath, hot water heat, cemented cellar, large lot. All household fur- niture included along with profitable estab- lished trade” (emphasis added). The asking price? $1950. Riverdale, Illinois: Similarly, the River-
dale Pointer of July 24, 1908, displayed a no- tice of a property for rent on Frederick Street, adjacent to the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, that had 21 rooms and was “suitable for Rail- road Boarding House.” Like everything else about railroading, an interesting environment.
PLEASE SEND QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS on railroad dining, art, and other trackside treats to Jim Porterfi eld at P.O. Box 3041, Elkins, WV 26241, or email
onthemenu@railfan.com.
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WhiteRiverProductions 59
Passenger TrainJOURNAL
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