Bio: Plath, William #2 (Retirement – 1955)
Contact: Bev

Surnames: Plath, Solberg, Hoops, Fisher, Youmans, Krasselt, Oelrich

----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Wood Co., Wis.) Nov. 1955

Soo Worker At Spencer Retires After 44 Years

Forty-four years ago William Plath began work as a night engineman for the Soo Line Railroad here. He was 21 years old then.

On Monday he retired on pension, completing a long tour of duty unmarred by accident. A group of 74 friends among the trainmen, enginemen and officials of the road gave him a purse and a miniature toy model of a steam locomotive of the type used on the road when Plath began his service in 1910. They gave Mrs. Plath a necklace.

Walter Solberg, assistant superintendent of the Stevens Point Soo Line division office, expressed the sentiment of the group in a letter to Plath which read in part as follows:

"You have always done a wonderful job and have a host of friends among the trainmen and engineers, as well as the officials of the company, I want to extend my best wishes to you on your retirement."

Things have changed a lot since he started railroading, Plath says. Before the automobile began to divert traffic, there was a heavy flow of passenger and freight rains through Spencer from Minneapolis, St. Paul, Ashland, Superior, Milwaukee and Chicago, and many intermediate points.

In those days as many as 14 daily passenger trains made stops at Spencer. Always there was activity at the station. Now thee is a little hubbub at the depot as fast freights whirl thought the village and passenger traffic has diminished to one night train each way between Chicago and the Twin Cities, and service between Ashland and Spencer.

As engine watchman, Plath's duties for many years varied from corking flues and changing fires to making minor repairs and fuelling steam locomotives. There was less of this work as the diesel electric took the place of the steam locomotive. Watchman at the round house and relief work at the coal shed were other duties on his schedule. He worked nights during his entire period of service with the road.

Mechanical devices for coaling engines did not exit at Spencer when Plath started his job. Brawn was needed to heave coal by hand into engine tenders. Hand-operated hoisting gadgets, which lifted half - ton buckets of coal into locomotive tenders, eventually took some of the back-breaking strain out of the fueling job.

"But I've worked with a swell bunch of fellows, and the officials were wonderful. I've never had a word or difficult time with any of them," he added.

Plath is a life long resident of Spencer. He was born there March 18, 1889, and was married in Trinity Lutheran Church to Renada Hoops on Oct. 14, 1910. He built his present home and helped to remodel several others in the village. Carpentry is his only hobby and has a small shop where he can busy himself when he wishes to do so.

Mr. and Mrs. Plath have two sons, Sherwood, Oshkosh; William, La du Flambeau; three daughters, Mrs. Harold Fisher, Fond du Lac, Mrs. Merton Youmans, Janesville and Mrs. Seigart Krasselt, Spencer, and nine grandchildren.

"How about plans for the future?" Plath says there is nothing definite. He and Mrs. Plath left today for Janesville to visit a daughter. After 10 days or so they plan to visit other their family. "That's probably how we'll spend a good deal of our time," he added.

William Oelrich has taken over in place of Plath as engine-watchman at Spencer.

(By News-Herald Correspondent)