| Show AGA OF FRIENDSHIP or 58 53 Years Mighty Railroad The Little Lillie Fellow Features Fea Every Memorial Day since 1888 a passenger train has Mme ome to an unscheduled stop on the lonely prairie near Elrod D D. D and while passengers wait and Wonder Vonder members of ofle ofle le Ie train crew visit a tiny grave along the right of There a moment of silence is observed a few brief ayers are said and flowers are ared ared ared d on the grave The trainmen turn to their train and the trip is When curious passengers ask out the stop top they learn the story how a railroad mans man's understanding of a small smally's ys y's fascination for railroading led leda a friendship that has been memo- memo for 58 years even though th the railroad man and the smally small y died years ago The mans man's name was William F. F cambers lambers better known as Big 11 ll Chambers and the small boy known only as The Little FelL Fel Fel- v v L Back in 1888 Big Bill was a akeman on the train hauling ack ballast for repair work under ly in the area The Little Fel- Fel of the v was the year old son uple who had charge of the and mess cars for the con- con ruction gang Every day when hen Bills Bill's train pulled into the rall railroad oad camp the boy ran to rae me t him and Chambers would spend hours telling him tales him tales of the big cities and of railroading Then in August August August Au Au- gust the boy became seriously ill and died He lie was buried there along the way right-of-way and Bill promised the boys boy's parents he would take care of the gra grave e until they were able to return and remove the body They never returned but Cham- Cham rs kept his promise even when he came name freight conductor and later conductor Section crews Aped him by keeping the grass id weeds away from the spot imeone meone put up a boulder to mark marke e grave Eventually Bill reached retire- retire ent lent age yet he still visited the ave regularly on Memorial Day Daylong able Others took long as he was j 3 the task for him and continued e e practice ev even n after his death in 39 Vince J. J Ford conductor mared mared mated mar mat ed Chambers' Chambers daughter Every Day Ford has taken lambers' lambers place although he too ow aw is retired The flowers are sent senty y 1 f his wife wile and Mrs Lydia Benson pother lother daughter of Chambers nth oth of whom reside at Redfield D. D Together with the train crews lese icse people have kept alive the of Big Bill and The ittle Fellow For 58 years the Chicago and forth orth Westerns Western's train has topped on the prairie near Elrod s it will again this year ers have waited and wondered hey have IV 11 rd the story and seen tie Ile cere f Not once has p p. a prost prost pro pro- st be bet tv v. v |
