Who Can Match Maxey Callaway for Mileage?
Maxey Callaway (William J., Amasa Cicero, Jesse M. Sr., Job Jr., Job Sr., Edward, John, Peter Callaway) pursued his career for a long run. The Temple Texas Daily Telegram of March 2, 1955, described Maxey as a "spry old railroader who's been with the Santa Fe as long as Temple has been a town."
Maxey said, "I've been working steadily with the Santa Fe since January, 1890." That, at the time of the interview, made 65 years. Maxey, like other old railroaders then, pronounced it "Santa Fee", not "Santa Fay." He said he had no plans to retire, was feeling good, and friends that had retired were "out in the cemetery."
"I go through the clinic twice a year, and until those doctors find something wrong with me, I am going to keep right on going."
He said he was convinced that smoking and drinking were not deterrents to a long, busy life. "They have nothing to do with it." He did give up smoking when doctors warned him it could cause throat trouble, but he still wasn't adverse to taking an occasional drink.
The key to longevity, both on the job and on the road of life, he felt, was "you've got to be satisfied with what you're doing".
Born in Grimes County, Texas, Maxey first worked for the Santa Fe in 1883 as "messenger boy and number grabber." That is the boy who goes through the yards every day and lists all the cars there. He said he wanted to work on the trains then, but his father wouldn't sign a release for him to get a job. So he took off to Houston for a couple of years.
"My folks didn't know where I was most of the time, and when I came back my father told me, 'By gee, I'll sign that release now if it'll keep you from running all round the country.'"
Wrote Telegram staff writer Neil Maxwell, "Signing that minor's release may have kept Mr. Callaway home for a while - but it came a long way from keeping him from 'running all around.'
"When you get right down to it, using real conservative figures, the Temple man's 65 years of being a brakeman and conductor have carried him for a total of well over three million miles. And in case you don't feel like converting that figure into number of trips to the store and back, it figures to be 120 trips around the world.
"Maxey Callaway worked routes all over the state - but none outside of Texas. He started with the Santa Fe as a brakeman in Navasota in 1889, when he was 17 years old. In 1893, he came to Temple when the whole town was dirt streets and frame buildings and wasn't even as old as the young brakeman from Navasota. In 1896, he switched over to being a conductor."
He recalled that "in the old days" the cars were about half the size they later became, and instead of each car having air brakes, the brakeman had to spin a wheel on top to put on the brakes of every car.
Maxey was the son of William Callaway of Courtney, Texas.
This article was submitted to CFA by Wayne C. Schultz, nephew of Maxey Callaway, and was originally published in the 2001 CFA Journal.
The 1880 Grimes Co., TX Census, Dist 66, pg 168D, shows Maxey listed as C. M. Callaway, age 8. He is named for his Mother, as Maxey is her maiden name, but what does the C. stand for? Maxey's line of descent is as follows:
Peter Callaway (US Immigrant)
John Callaway
Edward Callaway
Job Callaway, Sr.
Job Callaway, Jr.
Jesse M. Callaway, Sr.
Amasa Cicero Callaway
William J. Callaway
C. Maxey Callaway
Maxey said, "I've been working steadily with the Santa Fe since January, 1890." That, at the time of the interview, made 65 years. Maxey, like other old railroaders then, pronounced it "Santa Fee", not "Santa Fay." He said he had no plans to retire, was feeling good, and friends that had retired were "out in the cemetery."
"I go through the clinic twice a year, and until those doctors find something wrong with me, I am going to keep right on going."
He said he was convinced that smoking and drinking were not deterrents to a long, busy life. "They have nothing to do with it." He did give up smoking when doctors warned him it could cause throat trouble, but he still wasn't adverse to taking an occasional drink.
The key to longevity, both on the job and on the road of life, he felt, was "you've got to be satisfied with what you're doing".
Born in Grimes County, Texas, Maxey first worked for the Santa Fe in 1883 as "messenger boy and number grabber." That is the boy who goes through the yards every day and lists all the cars there. He said he wanted to work on the trains then, but his father wouldn't sign a release for him to get a job. So he took off to Houston for a couple of years.
"My folks didn't know where I was most of the time, and when I came back my father told me, 'By gee, I'll sign that release now if it'll keep you from running all round the country.'"
Wrote Telegram staff writer Neil Maxwell, "Signing that minor's release may have kept Mr. Callaway home for a while - but it came a long way from keeping him from 'running all around.'
"When you get right down to it, using real conservative figures, the Temple man's 65 years of being a brakeman and conductor have carried him for a total of well over three million miles. And in case you don't feel like converting that figure into number of trips to the store and back, it figures to be 120 trips around the world.
"Maxey Callaway worked routes all over the state - but none outside of Texas. He started with the Santa Fe as a brakeman in Navasota in 1889, when he was 17 years old. In 1893, he came to Temple when the whole town was dirt streets and frame buildings and wasn't even as old as the young brakeman from Navasota. In 1896, he switched over to being a conductor."
He recalled that "in the old days" the cars were about half the size they later became, and instead of each car having air brakes, the brakeman had to spin a wheel on top to put on the brakes of every car.
Maxey was the son of William Callaway of Courtney, Texas.
This article was submitted to CFA by Wayne C. Schultz, nephew of Maxey Callaway, and was originally published in the 2001 CFA Journal.
The 1880 Grimes Co., TX Census, Dist 66, pg 168D, shows Maxey listed as C. M. Callaway, age 8. He is named for his Mother, as Maxey is her maiden name, but what does the C. stand for? Maxey's line of descent is as follows:
Peter Callaway (US Immigrant)
John Callaway
Edward Callaway
Job Callaway, Sr.
Job Callaway, Jr.
Jesse M. Callaway, Sr.
Amasa Cicero Callaway
William J. Callaway
C. Maxey Callaway
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - Copyright © 2004 Callaway Family Association
posted by DFM | 7/11/2004
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