Elbert Ellis

Miami, Fla. Oct. 1, 1969 Dear Agnew and Family,

We received the clipping about old railroads, telegraph instruments and the history of Railroads in the area. I remember riding a passenger train Rockwood to Dayton and return in 1888 when I was age 8 the little Dinkeys around the blast furnaces at Dayton and Rockwood fascinated me, and until even the most modern innovations are most interesting to me. Vela read athe clippings to me and I thank you a thousand times for your kindness.

The storms and other troublesome things that raise their ugly heads have about settled down for the present.

That Old Telegraph Museum would be very interesting to see. I spent about five years as a Railroad telegrapher mostly for the Louisville & Nashville.

I made the instrument that I started learning on. I had good tools and made the key and sounder of seasoned Dogwood. I attached them onto the lid of a berry crate. Other parts were made of anything that I could find and use. The battery was made from the part of a glass jug with the top broken off. The sheet copper in it was made from the copper bottom of an old coffee pot. The Zinc crowfoot was molded of the broken corrogated sheet from an old washboard and so on. I had to buy the bluestone and a few small screws. It was not as loud as the real thing but loud enough for a beginner and I knew three of us who got our start on it. I don't know what became of it but it , as it was, would be a curiosity in that museum.

I always wanted to be an engineer. As a telegrapher on the L&N in 18 months I worked up to the hottest job on the system. They piled more work on me until it was not possible for one man to handle it safely. After repeated appeals for help with no results, they ignored my resignation. I walked off the job. That really tied the road up until they had to call out officials down to laborers and resulted in three men doing the work I had been doing. I got me a job firing. I procured more than $200.00 worth of literature on the equipment and the duties of an Engineer. By going to a new division I was promoted over 24 senior Firemen. I worked five years for the L&N then came to the F.E.C. here. That is when I got really messed up. I was supposed to be dead twice and later to die witnin 2 years.

I got my grip and came to Dayton where good old Mother, my sisters, brothers, including good old Frank and a lot of the good people there all helped me to come back and in two years I was back running an engine. I did this for more than 20 yrs. For several years I handled the Engrs. Labor matters. The officials asked to help them in several emergencies and if I may boast some more, they called me their best engineer.

At best, life has its hard knocks. How true it is that experience is a good teacher but his tuition is high. I look at our younger ones and so much wish I could pass on to them some of the things that I learned that way. I remember how my parents tried to warn me of the pitfalls ahead. Youth ust does not comprehend the danger and goes on ahead until they get swallowed up.

But life has its good side too. I think I realized my most desired occupation of being a good Locomotive Engineer. Of course like anything worth while it had its problems and hardships but it had its adventures, thrills and satisfactions when a good job could be done.

Agnew I know you have had to travel a sometimes uocky road to get to where you are and to be father to such a fine family and only with the most wonderful wife that Barbara is could you done it. We hop and pray you and your prople are well and doing well and in my prayers I ask God to help your good old Mothers. God bless and keep all of you.

Aunt Vela and Uncle Elbert.

P.S. I forgot to mention that the greatest thing that ever happened to me in all this was when Vela married me. She is an angel of Mercy.

The history of the Walnut Grove School was discussed by him in a letter to his brother, Foster

...talking about the history of Walnut Grove. I lived through the organization of the idea and helped build the old part, and attended 2 of the old 5-month terms of school. The reason for the building of it was that the old school house across from the old Thomison home was near the north end of the school district. The people voted to move it down to where the road turns off at Crow Hollow road, that went by Tom Knight's orchard, which would have been nearer the center of the district. Mr. Thomison objected, and said the land and house belonged to him, and he would not let them move it. John T. Howard, who was county cler, Mr. Ace Templeton, Daddy, and others got together and decided to form a new school district. The legislature was in session and Ben McKenzie was the representative. They appointed Daddy to go to Nashville and get the Legislature to form a new district. It started at the South line of the old Kyle farm and went to about the Big Spring.

They gave us the laugh and said we would have to build a school house and would not have any money for teacher's salary for 2 years. They appointed a committee to solicit money to build the house. Daddy's territory was Dayton. He went to every business and professional man in town, including the many saloons. They collected enough money to build the house and also toilets, something that we had never had at the other place, and had money to buy desks. At the other place we had just had old benches all the same size for the little fellows and all. With the help of some carpenters who donated their time, and a lotof us who could carry materials and drive nails, we had a roof on it in 3 or 4 days. A Professor Emmett Loury, who had been teacher at the other place for $60.00 a month. offered if they would raise $40.00 per month by subscription, he would teach. This was fone for a 5-month school. We used boxes, boards and chairs while we boys assembled the desks. The next year we had our 5-month school and Prof. Loury got his $60.00 per month. John T. Howard, who owned the land and lived in a big house located at the Uncle Chris Buttram site, and which burned later, donated a lot of money and gave a lot. there were a lot of people who wanted to name it for him and maybe some might have called it Howard Academy, but he modestly asked them to give it another name. On account of the row of walnut trees along that side of the road nearly to the top of the hill towards our place it was officially decided to name it Walnut Grove. Some more building was added on to the end of it later. Emmett Loury was a brother to Bill Loury. Emmett was a minister of the Christian church or maybe the Church of Christ. He was the fiinest kind of man and teacher and we all loved him. Some of the good influences that he had on me have lasted throughout my life. (From History of Rhea County Schools)