One of the regrettably few occasions that I shared some time with Bob Richardson, Bob wound up telling us some Otto Perry stories. He mentioned the incident during the war where Otto was accused of being a spy. Of course Bob was not there, but the story had made the rounds as Otto was apparently always willing to complain of his mistreatment. Bob said he asked him about it one time and he went off into some sort of verbal tirade about it. Bob laughed heartily as he told the story to us, though I remember he said Otto was not as amused about the incident.
Bob described another instance where they ran the last stock train over Marshall Pass in October 1953. He said there was a road up to the top and he rode up there after leaving the train in Sargent. After he arrived, he parked his vehicle where it would not be seen. Soon he heard Otto coming up the road to the spot. Bob says he hid in the bushes and as Otto set up to photograph the train, he began whispering "Otto" in the most ghostly voice he could muster. Otto looked around for the source but could not figure it out. As 489 and the train started down the pass, Bob again whispered, "Otto, the train is coming". He said Otto would no longer look for the source of the voice but left the spot and drove away as soon as he could after the train had passed. He said Otto never mentioned the incident or asked if it was Bob. Bob said he wondered if Otto ever figured out who it was.
Another incident was when Otto checked into the Narrow Gauge Motel in Alamosa on a train chasing trip. Bob told him that he might as well rest as there were no trains running at that time. Otto settled in for a nap, but Bob, being the mischievous soul he was, somehow piped in a recording of a passing train to Otto's room. He said Otto came rushing out asking if a train had passed. Bob, trying to keep a straight face, said no, not that he was aware. So Otto went back to his nap, whereupon Bob started the recording again. This time Otto came racing out putting on his shoes, jumped in his old Ford and sped off towards Antonito. leaving Bob rolling with laughter in his wake.
You might think from this that Bob Richardson did not have a lot of respect for Otto, but I did not get that feeling at all. I think he had a lot of affection and respect for Otto, but Bob apparently could not resist a good practical joke at times.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2008 10:45AM by Bill M..
