Norman Miller Holland, Railroad Fireman (Originally published in 2020)

This week's blog post theme is "Fire."
I thought I would write a little bit about my great grandfather, Norman Miller Holland.
He was a fireman for the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

I hadn't really thought much about his job. I incorrectly assumed he just rode on the train or worked in the rail yard waiting for a fire to fight, like the firemen I am more familiar with. Well, I was wrong. After a few days of research, I learned his job was more important. He was the one who kept the fire burning and the train moving. That sounds like hard work, but also a bit more fun!

Now, I don't know if he was a fireman on the railroad throughout his career. On the 1940 census he gave his occupation as "Justice of the Peace" but his death certificate lists his occupation as "Missouri Pacific Railroad." Coincidentally, this morning I received my regular email from the Mid-Continent Public Library which included a link to railroad pension information. He was listed, and I requested a copy of his file from the National Archives location in Atlanta. They are closed because of the pandemic, but will process any requests once they return. I'm looking forward to receiving it.

I learned quite a bit about the railroad industry the past few days. The original railroad going through Norman's town of Poplar Bluff, Missouri was the Iron Mountain Railroad. It ran between St. Louis and Arkansas. Missouri Pacific merged with Iron Mountain in 1917. The company went bankrupt during The Great Depression (in 1933), but it's nice to know Norman was still employed in 1930. He had four of his eight children by then.

I also learned Missouri Pacific had trains called "Screaming Eagles." On April 10, 1976, Six Flags St. Louis opened a new roller coaster called the Screamin' Eagle. It's still there - a wooden coaster. At that time, it was the tallest and fastest roller coaster. I must have spent hours in line for that ride as a teenager. I don't ride it now, just because it's not getting any younger, and I much prefer steel roller coasters. My new favorite: The Incredible Hulk at Universal's Islands of Adventure. I can't wait to get back on that one!

Anyway, here's a bit about Norman. You can see more about him Here