Lore...Interesting experiences from The Snick
"The President is calling..." from Edward Emanuel
"There are no F units around here any more" from Jeff Pape
"The President is calling..."
A tale from Edward Emanuel, Washington
Agent on the Olympic Peninsula for the Milwaukee Road and the Seattle & North Coast RailroadFrom the time of it's inception
until well into 1982, in a David vs. Goliath struggle, the S&NC was engaged
in a bitter battle with the Port of Seattle over the ownership of Pier 27.
Pier 27 the the linch-pin of the railroad's operation. Without Pier 27,
the railroad would have had to use one of the other rail-barge transfer
facilities at a prohibitive cost. The Port claimed the with the demise of
the Milwaukee Road, it had first priority to the property, which it wanted to
use as part of a planned container terminal. The battle raged in the
courts, the I.C.C., even the Halls of Congress and had attracted the attention
of the Seattle media. Larry Bunting and the Port of Seattle's Director
Richard Ford had even debated the issue on TV. For what it was worth, John
Q. Public was on the side of the little guy, battling the waterfront
bully.
When I came to work Monday June
7th, 1982, the office girls were bubbling over with excitement, at first, I
thought maybe Art and Larry had finally been able to get someone to invest in
the railroad. but no, they had the incredible news that President Reagan
had called Larry at his home that morning. Of course, it did no take long
for the news to reach the media, Larry spent most of that morning doing
interviews and fielding questions as to why the President of the United States,
who at the time was engaged in an economic summit with the leaders of the other
western nations, would take the time to call him, the Vice-President of a tiny
railroad, all the way from Versailles, France.
The story was, that at about 7
a.m., while Larry was sitting at the kitchen table in his underwear, drinking a
cup of coffee, the phone rang, it was a 'protocol-type' person who said he was a
presidential aide and wanted to know Larry's draft card, social security numbers
and his mother's maiden name. When he was satisfied he indeed was talking
to Larry Bunting, he instructed Larry when the president called, he was to
address him as "Mr. President," and only speak if the president asked
him any questions.
Within a few minutes, the phone
rang again, and it was President Reagan, who in about a 30 second conversation
seemed aware of the dispute over Pier 27, and asked about the likelihood of
resolving the dispute with the Port, and certain procedural matters with the
I.C.C. The president did not offer any statement of support.
After the conversation ended, Larry
said he just sat there in stunned silence, he just could not comprehend as to
what had just taken place. he kept asking himself, "why in the hell
would the president worry about a case like this." Larry's ego, which
was already bigger than he was, (Larry reminded me of Woody Allen), was even
bigger, and he was more obnoxious than usual.
It did not take long for the news
to reach Washington's congressional delegation. They were as flabbergasted
as the rest of us. Someone called a White House press aide to see if the
president had actually made the call.
After checking with the
presidential party in France, the aide reported that no phone call to Bunting
appeared on the president's phone log. If there was such a call it was a
HOAX! This news landed on the S&NC's corporate office like the A-Bomb
on Hiroshima! It was complete chaos, Larry said he was "sick"
and went home, leaving poor Art to face the music. Art issued a statement,
"that it was a very sad thing."
On the Olympic Peninsula, Art's and
Larry's credibility was already suspect, and this only confirmed what everyone
already thought. Then the knowledge of the people at the Port, rolling in
the aisles with laughter was almost more than Art and Larry could
endure.
For the next few days, when Art or
Larry were not around, whenever the phone would ring, one of the girls would
call out, "PRESIDENT REAGAN ON LINE 1." When talking to Larry,
it was very difficult keeping a straight face.
Fortunately the Reagan hoax did not
have any effect on the legal procedures that were taking place, and the dispute
was settled in favor of the S&NC.
This was one of the more classic
examples of my almost indescribable experiences on the Seattle & North Coast
Railroad.
