Show money from oil 01 A recent issue of wyoming oil world published at casper con contained bained an interesting story of a char character acte r who flashed into public notice about thirteen years ago and as abruptly disappeared the article follows coal oil johnny is coming back the man who for three years spent a million dollars a year in spectacular stunts and who woke up one morning to find himself penniless has been advanced from I 1 t trucker rucker of freight to railroad station agent coal oil johnny steele is now station agent for the burlington railroad at fort crook nebraska he is not coming back as a spender of money he is coming back as a business man As agent of the burlington road out at fort crook steele has a rather responsible position supplies for the big army post as well as thousands of american soldiers pass through the depot of which he has charge steele is an old man now and he absolutely refuses to talk of the days of coal oil johnny just across the railroad tracks from the burlington depot is the missouri pacific depot at fort crook the agent of the missouri pacific is mrs 0 C steele daughter inlaw in law of john W steele my father in law is very sensitive sensa tive said mrs steele he will not tell you a thing about the days when he was known as coal oil johnny he wont even talk of those days to his close friends after the grand cra shand money was no longer flowing into coal oil johnnys bank account like water and flowing out again just as rapidly steele picked up the remnants and with his wife and son came west he settled at ashland nebraska and lived in that town for many years his son 0 C steele grew to manhood and became station agent at that place for the burlington johnny steele trucked baggage around the depot twelve or thirteen years ago 0 C steele was promoted and sent to crete nebraska as agent for the burlington six years later he went to fremont as agent of the same road with him on each ot of his moves went his father J W steele at fremont 0 C steele died the father continued working for the burlington and several years ago was sent to fort crook as agent when he first went to fort crook that town was about the sleepiest slee station on the burlington system the fort was practically abandoned and only a corporals guard was maintained there A couple of local trains and a local freight per day was all the railroad business the town did A part of the railroad station is divided off and made into four tiny living rooms there mr and mrs steele lived a quiet life then came the war fort crook became the livest point in the state john steele woke up he became alive again he is filling a position of importance today he is an active old man who would not attract a second glance from a casual observer but there was a time when he attracted people like a can of molasses attracts flies those were the days when he be set out to spend a day and succeeded he spend the money gambling either nor did he buy expensive real estate nor anything of that kind he just spent it steele lived in pennsylvania in the days following the war along in 1865 or 1866 there was a big strike of oil on his place it made him rich richer than any man of whom he had ever heard its money rolled in on him so fast it almost swamped him it took him three months to awaken to the fact that he was rich by that time had piled up at the rate of every day a year down at pittsburg one night at a variety show a black faced comedian finished singing a song A man stepped out from a box handed the fellow a 1000 bill and said sing that again will you I 1 like it it was coal oil johnny he was out for a good time he had money to spend and he wanted people to know it but his name that night was john W steele the next night it was coal oil johnny the day after the theatrical stunt steele attended a sanitary fair A was asking just one days pay steel stepped up and handed him the fellow almost dropped dead what name he gasped gh ch just put it down to coal oil johnny 11 was the answer friends crowded around him day and night one day he went into a saloon A crowded followed all the champagne you can drink from your hats he ordered hats were filled then he took the whole crowd out and bought a new hat for each man he invaded philadelphia he bought a special train over the pennsylvania railroad service was free to anyone who wanted to go the train was filled he bought the continental hotel in philadelphia for a day it cost him everything was free one day he saw skiff gaylords Gay lords minstrel show it struck his fancy he bought a railroad train loaded the whole show into it and went around the country hav having 1 ng lot lots of fun and paying all expenses when he grew tired of the sensation he left it for three he years kept up this wand wit it he spent each 0 of f these years ye 8 then one day his oil wells ceased fb ing his money was gone ile he had s saved avea 5 nothing that day his friends who bad grown rich on his bounty deserted him in if I 1 a body he had a hazy recollection lection of h ha ay 11 ing deposited money in banks at oil city he found of his money this time he speculated in a week he was again broke he went back home got his wife ani and little son and came west to live he set tied aled in ashland where he lived many years now he is agent of the burlington at fort crook and is rising in the world he is not coal oil johnny he is john W steele |