Volunteer Spotlight: John Geist

When I ask John Geist, a 14-year B&O volunteer originally from Lancaster, PA, if he would mind being the subject of the latest Volunteer Spotlight, I am met with same the soft-spoken humility that makes John such a pleasure to work with each week. Without much ado, John gives me permission to interview him, and we settle into what we at the B&O have come to call the Fishbowl: a small research area between our offices and the archives where John volunteers every Wednesday. John speaks gently, but not timidly, as he has in every conversation I’ve ever had with him. John isn’t a timid man, but rather one whose thoughts are carefully distilled, whose words are clear and precise, and whose temperament is mild and disarming.

John is the first to admit that he had no prior connection to the railroad; he holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh and his career was spent largely as an association executive for various human services agencies. In areas such as health, education, and child safety, John worked to help administer services and resources to the people who needed them. This is why John’s particular interest is in the human aspect of the railroad’s history. He explains that railroading was the first American industry to provide a social safety net for its employees, and furthermore, that the B&O was the very first railroad to do so with the inception of its Relief Department in the late 19^th century. My discussion with John on this topic further affirms what I’ve already begun to realize in my time at the B&O: there is an aspect of the railroad’s history for everyone. The B&O Railroad represents a cross-section of society, wherein social historians like John are just as essential as those who can, say, describe in painstaking detail the mechanical ins-and-outs of a steam engine. This isn’t just about history either – John’s favorite part of volunteering at the B&O is “the camaraderie with the other volunteers and working with the staff,” and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone, staff or volunteer, who would disagree. John’s words and his wisdom serve as powerful reminders of what has always made the B&O so special. From the workers who built the railroad, to the tireless volunteers like John Geist who devote their time to the careful maintenance of its legacy, the B&O has always been about people, their lives, their work, and perhaps most importantly, their stories.

For volunteer opportunities, visit: http://www.borail.org/BO-Volunteer.aspx

Volunteer Spotlight: Charlotte Ziegler

Just over a decade ago, Charlotte Ziegler visited the website of the B&O Railroad Museum in search of information about the annual Day Out With Thomas event for a friend with a young grandson. Charlotte soon noticed that the B&O had volunteer opportunities available, and after a few brief, unsatisfying stints at other institutions, she was eager to find out if the B&O was a good fit. Charlotte, who retired in 2006 after a long career in marketing & public affairs for the U.S. Army, saw volunteer work as a way to continue keeping her mind active and engaged. “I retired after 30 years,” Charlotte explains, “but my brain didn’t. It keeps going. It still is.”  Charlotte quickly scheduled an interview and was delighted to learn that at the B&O, she would have the freedom to apply all of her skills — wherever and however she best saw fit. Before long, Charlotte became one of the museum’s regular Tuesday volunteers. Over time, the B&O began to call on Charlotte when in need of her unique skill set which includes costume design — a hobby she describes as her “first love.” Charlotte is suddenly glowing as she recalls being asked to design princess costumes for the museum’s Royal Adventure Days event and tells me that the gown she considers her “particular masterpiece” is that of Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, for which she had to create a custom fabric pattern to match the one from the movie. Perhaps surprisingly, Charlotte confesses that when she first began volunteering at the B&O, her interest in trains was quite minimal and mostly limited to fond childhood memories of setting up a model village under the Christmas tree each year with her mother — a holiday tradition which Charlotte has continued to uphold throughout the years. Fortunately for the museum and all who attend its annual Magical Holiday Express event, Charlotte shares that yuletide joy each year by assuming the role of Mrs. Claus as she has done since 2010 and which she considers to be her absolute favorite part of volunteering at the B&O. Charlotte also puts her marketing background to use by distributing B&O press releases to the multitude of media outlets she has organized into a spreadsheet at home. As if the aforementioned contributions weren’t enough, Charlotte leads museum tours and is radiantly proud of currently being the only woman volunteer to do so. Charlotte recalls a guest once condescendingly raising doubts about whether or not she was indeed a volunteer at the museum. “Girls like trains too.” she replied. As the simplest responses often do, Charlotte’s answer resonates. The world of trains and railroad history tends to be predominated by men, however Charlotte notes that the guys with whom she volunteers have never been anything short of utterly genial and welcoming towards her. In fact, Charlotte affectionately refers to her crew of fellow Thursday volunteers as “The Rat Pack” and, through delighted laughter, adds “I guess that makes me Angie Dickinson.”

 

Inspired by Charlotte's story? You can apply to volunteer at the B&O today!

Herb Sauter's B&O Story

My name is Herbert Sauter. I will be 90 years old in May. I worked for the B&O railroad and it's successors for 45 years. I began working for the B&O railroad at age 17 on Friday, September 13th 1946. I started as a messenger in outbound freight on the second floor of the Camden Freight Office located in the corner of Eutaw and Camden streets. It was attached to the warehouse (the present site of Oriole Park at Camden Yards) but is gone now. I made $6.04 a day. I ran errands, did some filing, and got coffee and lunches for the bosses. Then I became a day motor messenger and got a fifty cents a day raise. As a motor messenger I drove all over Baltimore in a B&O personnel car (one was a Ford and one was a Plymouth) delivering mail, running errands and picking up bills of lading and taking them to the freight office to be rated and billed. The bills had to be picked up at Canton, Highlandtown, Bayview yard, Ft. Holabird, B&O Canton Railroad, Locust point, Mt. Claire Freight office, Chevrolet plant, Esso Oil refinery, the stockyard, Curtis Bay coal pier and ore pier and the fruit pier. When the waybill was ready then I had to take them to the yard office to meet the train. One of the first memories I have of being a motor messenger was going to the Mt. Claire Assistant Agent's office. Some days I probably drove 100 miles just around Baltimore.
Watching the bananas being unloaded from the ships on the banana pier at Pratt and Light streets was a favorite of mine. The stevedores would carry big stalks of bananas off of the ship and into rail cars that had to be brought to the fruit pier by floating them on a barge. They were refrigerated by blocks of ice covered in salt placed in the tops of the cars. When they were loaded they floated them down to the railroad yard. The harbor would be full of bananas when they were done. Later on in my career, I worked at the Banana pier on McComas Street, south side Locust Point. After the refrigerated rail cars with bananas were temperature checked and written on the lay bill, I had to put the seal on the car showing that it had been checked. I also watched the B&O Toonerville Trolley #10 engine working at the Fells Street Warehouse. It ran on overhead electric wires and was used as a box car switcher with the car floats. Another favorite was to watch the brand new cars drive out of the Chevrolet plant and right onto the rail cars.
Next I worked the 3 to 11 shift to get my clerk seniority. I filled in for vacations. While working at the Camden Yard freight office we had a softball team. We would play on our lunch hour against the Camden shed workers team. We played right outside of the Camden Yard warehouse on the railroad tracks. The softballs would get all chewed up from hitting the warehouse and the rails. If you hit the ball into the tunnel in the Warehouse you got a homerun. One day I took one of the softballs that had lost its cover and threw it with all of my might over the top of the warehouse which is still standing as a part of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. I tell my children, Grandchildren, and Great Grandchildren that story every time we are
at the ballpark. We also used to go up to the top floor of the Camden Warehouse, which was the attic with the little windows, and there were huge bound books containing hand written daily workings of the railroad. Eventually I got a clerk job at Pier 6 Locust Point Marine Terminal.
In March of 1951 I was drafted. I served my country for 2 years as a transportation specialist stationed in Austria. Sometimes I would travel to Trieste on the Mediterranean to watch the unloading of the coal boats that had come from Curtis Bay, Maryland.
When I got out of the Army in 1953 I could not get my old clerk job back so I was once again a B&O motor messenger. Then I got a charge clerk job assessing storage and wharfage charges on freight for the B&O. In 1962 The B&O became Chessie System. In April of 1970 I moved Uptown to be a clerk for Foreign Freight, World Commerce Department, working with import auto shipping. The railroad eliminated the World Commerce division and I moved to customer service, regional sales as a trace clerk. Not long after that the railroad separated regional sales offices from the rest of the railroad and my office moved to Woodlawn. Then once again I moved offices back to Charles Center in Baltimore as a rate clerk for Automobiles. I began working under the New York Dock agreement catching up on all of the backed up work for the railroad. I retired on May 31, 1991. Three days before I retired they made me chief clerk to fill in for someone. The two years of service in the Army counted to my total years working for the railroad. I saw a lot of changes to the railroad industry during my wonderful 45 year career with the railroad.

My wife, Betty Sauter, also worked for the B&O Railroad for several years until our first daughter was born. However, we never worked together in the same office. She was a stenographer in several offices. She was at the storekeepers offices at Mt. Claire, the Agents office at the Camden freight office, the Superintendent's office at Camden Station second floor, and the Real Estate office at the B&O Central building uptown. We both met many fascinating people and made and kept lifelong friendships with many. Sadly, most have passed on.
The railroad also had many parties and events for employees. They would have parties in the B&O Roundhouse and they would put oak boards on the turntable so they could put tables and have dancing on the turntable. When people got to dancing the turntable would bounce up and down. It was great fun. There were also weekend excursions on a train from Baltimore to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. There were learning trips for employees. One memorable one was riding the train to the Wilmington, Delaware auto plant. They took the whole train into the factory. I was thrilled to get to ride in the inspection car. My family took a trip to Miami, Florida on the Silver Meteor. It was exciting for my two young daughters. My wife and I visited the fabulous Greenbrier resort which the C&O owned. There were many great memories made.
I have witnessed a lot of change in the railroad industry in 45 years. From the way the tracks are laid to the use of computers instead of hand writing everything. I am proud to have played a small part in the history of the Great B&O Railroad.

Volunteer Spotlight: Mike & Ruth Kline

Visit the B&O on any given Tuesday, and you're sure to see Mike and Ruth Kline, donning their B&O blues and warm smiles. Mike will also be sporting his white, leather-billed B&O Railroad cap. "We can't go anywhere without that hat," Ruth tells me, "even to church." That's because Mike, as a tireless representative of the B&O, is never really off duty. With youthful enthusiasm Mike tells me that people everywhere recognize the B&O on his cap, and share with him personal memories of the railroad or start to name family members who once worked on it. It's no surprise that after 21 years of volunteering at the museum, Mike's knowledge of all things locomotive can only fairly be described as enyclopedic. What may however be more surprising is the fact that Mike has committed this knowledge to a literal enyclopedia. As I speak with him, Mike slides an overstuffed binder out from behind the information desk and flips it open on the counter. Color-coded with categorical tabs, this binder contains an unimaginable wealth of archival photographs, engineering diagrams, and historical tidbits that together comrpise what Ruth calls "his Bible." She isn't hyperbolizing either — Mike's descriptions of each page are as reverential in tone as they are informative. Mike's father was, after all, a worker on the Pennsylvania railroad, so his passion for trains runs deep. Just as Mike's love of the railroad began with his father's work, serving at the B&O has become something of a family affair for the Klines, as their son Fred and grandaughter Lyla both volunteer during big events, such as our annual Day Out With Thomas.  Mike & Ruth, who now live in Linthicum, were first referred to the museum in 1997 by a neighbor who Mike tells me had worked as an engineer on the B&O for over 40 years. Ruth started volunteering shortly after Mike, and works mainly as a docent and greeter — the perfect positions for a woman who excels at making everyone who enters the Roundhouse feel right at home. She tells me that her favorite part of volunteering at the museum is getting to meet so many people from all over the world. Mike, who is also a docent as well as a photographer, adds that his favorite part is the gratitude that guests show, and no statement could be more telling. The Klines devote their time to the B&O because they truly love it. They radiate with joy as they describe the thanks they receive — though Ruth notes that while appreciated, it's hardly necessary. She often responds to grateful guests by telling them "You don't have to thank me, I'm enjoying it as much as you are." And as anyone who has had the fortune of meeting these two can undoutedbly corroborate — she really means it.

Gary Brukiewa

Chris France

Duncan Keir

VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH

May 2015

The B&O Railroad Museum is pleased to recognize the Train Crew who was on duty February 28, 2015
as May's Volunteers of the Month. Recognition is way over do for these volunteers who should be commended for their knowledge and expertise. 

The Train Crew, which included Chris France, Duncan Keir, and Gary Brukiewa, along with car hosts, Jerry Hofkin and Pete Schap, responded in a quick and professional manner in handling the situation that occurred during the first train ride that day. This team was able to get the train ride moving again while keeping visitors informed and entertained during the process. Garry Pace and Steve Montiero, who came in on their day off, helped to get the matter resolved also. We thank them too for their dedication and efforts.

We thank all of these wonderful volunteers for sharing their time, talents, and love of history. We are so fortunate to have all of them on our team. The train can not operate without them!

April Volunteer of the Month

On the evening of March 10 the B&O Railroad Museum Board of Directors and staff honored the volunteers of the B&O in Baltimore, Ellicott City Station, and Mount Clare Museum House at its annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. Courtney Wilson, Executive Director, welcomed over 160 guests. After dinner, Chairman of the Board, Francis Smyth personally thanked everyone for all of their dedication and devotion to each museum site. Dave Shackelford, Chief Curator, provided a slide show about the future of the museum and a glimpse of the year in review. Travis Harry, Director of Operations, commenced the awards & recognition ceremony.

 The Unsung Hero Award went to Chris France

Chairman of the Board Frances Smyth congrulates Chris France

and the Lifetime Service Awards went to Bill Roman and Bob & Kathy Miller.

Courtney Wilson & Bill Roman

Frances Smyth, Bob Miller, Kathy Miller, & Courtney Wilson

Paul Bridge obtained the “Most Hours” and the Departmental Outstanding Service Awards were received by the following:

Catered Events: Virginia & Ralph Adams and Ruth & Mike Kline

Education: April Smith

Facilities & Maintenance: Jack Walsh

Library Archives: Bob Ullrich

Rail Operations: Dennis Marron

Restoration: Richard Reier

Visitor Services: Charlotte Zeigler

Ellicott City Station: Reid Rago

Mount Clare Museum House: Liz McCannell

A HUGE thank you to all Museums’ volunteers! We could not open our doors without you.

February 2015 Volunteer of the Month

Engineer Chris France

The B&O Railroad Museum is pleased to recognize Chris France as January 2015 Volunteer of the Month. Chris has been a volunteer for over 16 years and is an integral part of the museum's rail operations department. Since the departure of another one of the museum's engineers, Chris has stepped up and help cover many days on the train schedule. This is tough after working all week at his regular job. He has even covered trips during the middle of his work day which is a huge undertaking for him. His selflessness and love of the museum is easily seen.

Chris, thank you for sharing your time, talents, kindness, and love of trains. We are so fortunate to have you on our team! We could not do it without you!

November 2014 Volunteer of the Month

The B&O Railroad Museum is pleased to recognize Garry Pace as the November 2014 Volunteer of the Month. Garry has been a volunteer for over 4 years and in this short time has made a big impact on the museum especially in the area of rail operations. Garry has just completed and is beginning training on new rules and procedures regarding rail operations. He is also in the process of obtaining his engineers' certification. You can find him with Railroad Engineer Dwayne McCoy switching cars, repairing track and locomotives or flagging the crossings. He and his wife also represented the museum at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroads Steel Wheels this past September. Thank you Garry for all of your time, talents, kindness, and love for history. We are so fortunate to have you on our team! We could not do it without you.

October 2014 Volunteer of the Month

Star Spangled Spectacular Booth at Baltimore Harbor's Rash Field

The B&O Railroad Museum is pleased to recognize all of the B&O volunteers and staff who worked at the B&O booth at Baltimore's Star Spangled Spectacular the weekend of September 12-14. Long hours were spent making pipe-cleaner star bubble wands and bath tub navy ships, but visitors loved making them with their children and they were a huge hit. When volunteers and staff were not helping out making these crafts, they were eagerly promoting the B&O Railroad Museum, Mount Clare Museum House, and all events planned from now to Spring of 2015. Volunteers were Carol & Dave Erhardt, Jim Kinnear, Patrick Kirn, Jim Maitland, Pete Schap, Judy & Ron Sperling, Al Stominski, Marty Yaker, & Ed Zehler. B&O staff were Amanda Barrett, Kathy Hargest, Jane Harper, Ben Kirn, Dana Kirn, Steve Madewell, Ashley Portrey, and Brad White.

Many thanks to all of you for sharing your time and talents! This marketing event for the Museums could not have been possible without all of your help! We are so fortunate to have you on our team!

September 2014 Volunteer of the Month

Randy Richardson

The B&O Railroad Museum is pleased to recognize Randy Richardson as the September 2014 Volunteer of the Month!

Randy recently returned to volunteering at the B&O Railroad Museum. He was first here  for a few years before the Roundhouse roof collapse President's Day 2003. He is part of the Friday crew. His love for the B&O and its history is easy to see. He is always talking with visitors and spending as much time as needed with them to answer all their questions.

Randy, thank you for sharing your time, talents, kindness, and love for history. We are so fortunate to have you on our team! We could not do it without you!

August 2014 Volunteer of the Month

Jerry Donaldson

The B&O Railroad Museum recognizes Jerry Donaldson as this month's Volunteer of the Month.

Jerry has been volunteering at the B&O Railroad Museum Ellicott City Station since 2009. Every week he assists site manager, Tom Hane with visitors and groups. He is a highly valued team member at Ellicott City Station especially since he helps keep the HO model train layout efficiently operating. Thanks you Jerry for all of your time, talents, kindness and love for history! We are so fortunate to have you as part of our team. We could not do it without you!

Dale Schulz

The B&O Railroad Museum is pleased to recognize Dale Schulz as July's 2014 Volunteer of the Month!
Dale is one of our new volunteers who began in February 2014. He is already jumping in and helping out whenever he can. He has joined the G-scale layout group. He is always prepared to provide an extra pair of hands whenever needed. Travis Harry, volunteer coordinator, states, "He is usually the first one I call!"

Museum Staff extends a very special thank you to Mr. Schulz for all of his time, talents, dedication, and love of history. We are honored to have you on our team and could not do it without you.

Duncan Keir

Dale Schulz

John Jones

Ron Sperling

John Geist

Garry Pace

June 2014 Volunteer of the Month

The B&O Railroad Museum recognizes the April 25, 2014 Day Out With Thomas Train Crew as June's volunteer of the month. This group is deserving of this award because during the first train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine this year there was a problem with the diesel locomotive. The engineer quickly replaced the malfunctioned locomotive while the volunteer crew on board kept visitors informed of the situation and helped keep them entertained. Everyone followed instructions and made an unfortunate incident a good one for our visitors. So gentlemen thank you for sharing your time, talents, kindness, and love for history. Your ability to adapt and be flexible in any situation is greatly appreciated. We are so fortunate to have you on our team. Your dedication is priceless!

MAY 2014 VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

The B&O Railroad Museum is pleased to recognize the Sunday Train Crew as the May 2014 Volunteer of the Month. The Sunday Train Crew is comprised of Owen Stedding,Gary Brukiewa, Craig Strohmer, and John Jones. They are deserving of the award this month because the Sunday before our train ride season started this year, they cleaned all of our passenger coaches from top to bottom. They vacuumed and mopped the cars so they would be clean for our visitors to enjoy our train ride. This was a huge task and greatly helps the staff here at the museum. So gentleman, thank you for sharing your time, talents, kindness, and love for history. We are so fortunate to have you on our team! We could not do it without you!

April 2014 Volunteer of the Month
Charlotte Ziegler

The B&O Railroad Museum is pleased to recognize Charlotte Ziegler as its April 2014 Volunteer of the Month. Charlotte has volunteered for the museum for over six years. She performs many job duties at the museum and we are extremely grateful for all of her help. She is a regular volunteer docent on Thursdays. Is one of the ladies in charge of Toddler Time, the first and third Wednesday of each month. Charlotte is probably best known around the museum during the holidays when she transforms into Mrs. Claus. Her costumes and accessories as Mrs. Claus and Civil War Mrs. Claus are sewn by her own two hands. When she is not assisting the curatorial and visitor services staff, Charlotte works behind the scenes helping the marketing department. Charlotte manages the media list,disseminates museum press releases, and submits events to on-line calendars. Charlotte, thank you for sharing your time, talents and love of history. The work you do is so appreciated by everyone who works or visits this museum.  We are so fortunate to have you as part of our team!

2014 VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH

The B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Ellicott City Station, and Mount Clare Museum House could not operate and provide wonderful events and programs for you without the support and dedication of our B&O Volunteers. They help in every area of the museum - greeting guests, operating locomotives, giving guided tours, restoring rail equipment, and working in the archives. On March 13, the annual B&O Volunteer Dinner will be held to honor all of our valuable volunteers and to recognize them on their excellent service over the past year. If you are interested in volunteering at a B&O Museum, visit http://www.borail.org/BO-Volunteer.aspx for more information or call Travis Harry at tharry@borail.org.

THANKS AGAIN VOLUNTEERS FOR ALL YOU DO!

February 2014 Volunteer of the Month

February 2014 Volunteer of the Month

Richard Groenwald

Richard has volunteered at the museum for the last 3 years. His main job has been helping to maintain the HO Model Layout. He is very knowledgeable when it comes to model trains and also anything electronic. The bad news is Richard and his wife are moving to Michigan. And we will also be missing her delicious baking as Richard would bring in treats every week for the Friday crew.

Richard, thank you for sharing your time, talents, kindness, and love for history.   We are so fortunate to have you on our team! We wish you the best and hope to see you soon!

Volunteer of the Month - January

January 2014 - John JJ Jones

The B&O Railroad Museum is please to recognize John “JJ” Jones as the January 2014 Volunteer of the Month.

JJ has volunteered at the museum for the last 12 years. He has done many different jobs at the museum from docent to maintaining our HO Layout to conducting on our train ride. He is always ready to lend a helping hand wherever he can. During the last month, he stepped in to conduct on our Sunday train rides when the regular conductor had to take a leave of absence.

JJ, thank you for sharing your time, talents, kindness, and love for history.   We are so fortunate to have you on our team! We could not do it without you!

December 2013 Duncan Keir

The B&O Railroad Museum is please to recognize Duncan Keir as the December 2013 Volunteer of the Month.

Duncan has volunteered at the museum for the last 6 years. He has been a docent for most of the time he has been volunteering but has lately helped out more in rail operations. He is one of our newest trained conductors. Also he has helped rail operations with several big projects including a major repair to the 1200 SW-7 switcher locomotive.

Duncan, thank you for sharing your time, talents, kindness, and love for history.   We are so fortunate to have you on our team! We could not do it without you!

November 2013 Craig Strohmer

The B&O Railroad Museum is please to recognize Craig Strohmer as the November 2013 Volunteer of the Month.

Craig has volunteered at the museum for the last 14 years. He is currently our Sunday conductor for our train rides. He is also one of our talented volunteer photographers. He regularly photos restoration projects that are being done in the restoration shop. These are a valuable record to the historical work being done by our staff and volunteers.

Craig, thank you for sharing your time, talents, kindness, and love for history.   We are so fortunate to have you on our team! We could not do it without you!