George Hodge came into the vineyard in 1890 as a clerk in the passenger department, and steadily rose officially until now he is assistant to the vice-president. Fred Hopkins came to work earlier than George—in ’82—in the passenger department and rose to be assistant general passenger agent. Emile Hebert’s connection with the company dates away back in the ’80’s. To him is assigned the duty of looking after French-Canadian patrons, and he does it so successfully that many of his compatriots imagine that he is the president of the C.P.R. and believe that Ambroise Lalonde, another veteran, is general manager.
Good old Alexander Calder, of Winnipeg, has been associated with the company ever since its birth, and is still doing business at the same old stand. His son Arthur has been with the company for very many years, and now fills a position on the executive staff.
Charles Buell is of the ’95 product, and after a quarter of a century’s service is now staff registrar and secretary of the pension department. “They” say that Charlie knows the age, sex and previous condition of servitude of every blessed one of the 100,000 employes of the C.P.R.
Billy Dockrill, Harry Ibbotson, Jimmy McKenna, and Walter Brett are veteran travelling passenger agents still on deck. R. J. Smith, for years with the company, is now chief ticket agent at Montreal; Fred C. Lydon, who came as a boy, is city ticket agent at Montreal. Geo. Beer and Billy Corbett are well known figures in the Toronto office. Billy Jackson, outside ticket agent at Clinton, is said to be the oldest ticket agent in Canada. W. H. C. Mackay, St. John, N.B., and Jerry Chipman, Halifax, and Arthur Shaw, of Montreal, have been with the company for goodness knows how long. Tom Riddell has been in the claims department since a boy, and is still there.
The present chief engineer, John M. Fairbairn, started in 1892 as topographer on the Soo Road, and quickly rose in position until in 1918 he reached the top of the department. P. B. Motley came as a draughtsman in the same department in the same year, and is now engineer of bridges. And of the others—their name is legion, Angus McMurchy, of Toronto, is perhaps the oldest solicitor of the company, and is still in harness.
H. W. Sweeney was an office boy in the treasurer’s department in ’86, and after being clerk, cashier, paymaster he was appointed local treasurer at Winnipeg in 1908, and still fills that position most efficiently.
Billy Cooper, who is now the head of the sleeping car department, commenced work as a clerk in the general superintendent’s office in Montreal in ’91. He has able assistants in the other old-timers, Bert Mathews, of Winnipeg, and Frank Tingley, of Vancouver, Sid Wertheim, of Toronto, and Jimmy Downs, of Montreal, who can get more lower berths for passengers than any other person—and these are all veterans.