employee2 Wrote:
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> Hi Gregg, I don't really remember Mike having an
> overbite, but he was a fireman and about 22 years
> old, I'd say, in 1971. He was a bit brash and did
> have a slightly salty vocabulary, but I probably
> had worse. I had learned from a couple of old-time
> railroad pros, Ben Greathouse and Sid McKinney!
>
> My main impressions of Mike Carr were that he was
> fairly attractive, a little baby-faced with a wry
> smile, and quite the ladies' man. He had huge
> self-confidence, and even a little swagger, but
> well-deserved. He was one of the most intelligent
> people I have ever known, and literally could do
> anything. And if he didn't have experience at
> doing something, he was never afraid to try - and
> he succeeded. He brought out with him from Chicago
> a vast array of tools, a welder, and even a
> narrow-gauge speeder built back home in his
> garage, all for the use of the railroad.
>
> He was the son of a well-off family in Chicago
> (his dad was a doctor), but had a lot of
> street-smarts, too. He played in a jazz/rock band
> in Chicago, and even brought his huge Hammond
> organ, complete with Leslie extension speaker, out
> to our little house in Chama. And he could play it
> amazingly! He could really rattle the windows with
> that thing!
>
> One night, he wore his white silk suit down to the
> High Country Lounge and played cool jazz piano for
> a while. He told me he had bought the suit to
> prove that he could run diesels all day on the
> Milwaukee Road without getting it dirty!
Interesting about the music stuff. Around that time I was hanging out
with this rock band group in Ohio, and even played roadie on a weekend up to Miami University. One of the guys had a big Hammond B3 Organ and Leslie twerling speekers that were really cool. Sounds like the same set-up Mike Had.
I think the words you discribed as Brash,and confident fit the guy we had some contact with. I would also say he was a bit "hyper active" perhaps. I think my brother wanted to volunteer and he said something like here's a shovel so fill this hole with cinders, or some such. My brother jumped right in there, so I think Mike was his new idol. My brother was maybe 17 at the time.
I do remember most of the folks were fairly friendly there. I have some movies I shot in 1971, but have only had a little bit transfered to video. One shows the 484 leaving Chama and the brakeman riding the top of the cars with his brake club, which I thought was cool. Reminds me of the Russ Sperry shot of the last run from Alamosa with Freight in 1968, and the guys jacket billowing like a balloon.
Greg Scholl
