Stan Holland attended
Yale University on an academic scholarship, graduating first in his class
in 1939. His degree was in industrial science and administration. He won
the coveted Chittenden Prize for academic excellence at Yale’s prestigious
Sheffield School of Science. At the graduation ceremony, when he presented
my father with the Chittenden Prize, Yale President Charles Seymour stated:
“Mr. Herbert Stanley Holland, Jr., born in Baltimore,
now by reason of intellectual interests or for other causes a resident
of New Haven. But his Southern background is ample, for he prepared for
Yale not merely at Forrest Park High School in Baltimore, but in the Miami
High School in Florida. His interests have led him to major in studies
preparatory to industrial administration and he intends to follow a career
in railroad transportation. Evidently the Sheffield Scientific School
Faculty are determined to save the railroads.
“During his course Mr. Holland has achieved a general
average of 96, the significance of which appears when you remember that
the average member of the Faculty regards 95 as perfect. He achieved the
rare and happy distinction of membership in both of the honorary societies
representing the arts and the sciences, in Phi Beta Kappa, and in Sigma
Xi.”
While at Yale, my father participated in a Railroad Co-Op
program with both the New York Central and New Haven Railroads. Some of
his best “Roster” photographs, which are available for viewing
on this Web Site, were taken while he was studying the industry that he
truly loved.
After graduating, Stan accepted employment at the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad as an assistant Station Master at Baltimore’s
Mount Royal Station. He was promoted to Station Master…in December
1941. One of my favorite “rail relics” is his original Station
Master Rule Book Exam with his hand-written answers.
But World War II changed my father’s career path.
After Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the United States Navy, and was commissioned
in June 1942. He taught engineering and propulsion systems at Annapolis
for the next 18 months prior to being assigned to a series of Destroyers
in the Western Pacific for the balance of the war. My father was awarded
the bronze star for his heroic actions following a direct hit by a Kamikaze
aircraft on April 27th, 1945, while serving on the USS Hutchins (DD-476)
at the Battle Of Okinawa.
My father returned to the B&O after the war, working
as an electrical engineer until recalled to active duty in the Navy during
the Korean War. After being released from active duty, he was hired by
the Missouri Pacific Railroad as Director of Employment Practices. In
1961, he decided to return to the classroom, where he retired as a Professor
of Mathematics in 1987. He remained active in the Naval Reserve, retiring
as a Captain. My parents now reside in Mesa, Arizona, close to where I
live. Dad continues to be my “primary resource” for thoughtful
insights on the Golden Age of Steam and his collection.
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This Web Site contains
a considerable portion of the railroad memorabilia and H.O. gauge trains
that the two of us have collected over the years. I also have a keen interest
in Railroadiana and have been an avid collector as well. I was a yard
helper and foreman for Southern Pacific in the 1970’s and 80’s.
But the time has come to share the wealth of this collection. His collection
contains brass HO steam engines dating back to the late 1930’s,
before the United States ban on Japanese imports. Timetables, RLA contracts
and rulebooks date back to 1915. Magazines and hardcover books date back
to the 1930’s. I hope you enjoy browsing through the Web Site.ABOUT
THE PICTURES:
For me, truly the
most important part of this combined collection are the over 8,000 pictures
and 11,000 negatives that my father collected and traded during the 30’s
and 40’s. This massive collection is a 20th Century history of steam…pictures
from over 500 different railroads (yes, there were that many), including
steam railroads in Mexico, Cuba, South America and Western Europe.
Railroad photography
was a robust cottage industry in the first half of the 20th Century. Both
amateur and professional photographers sold and traded pictures via the
U.S. mail. It was a cottage industry based on skill, bartering and trust.
And in the days before computers, J.PGs, faxes or even copy machines,
it was a very labor-intensive endeavor. But from my reading the correspondence
between my father and those he traded with, this nation-wide “steam
paparazzi” was surprisingly well organized.
They were devoted
to not only making a little money with their photographical skills, but
to sharing their knowledge and lore with traders throughout the country.
Not even World War II censorship or worries about spies slowed down the
flow of photographs. In fact, one letter addressed to my father followed
him from the USS Stack, to the USS Norman Scott and was finally being
delivered to him on the USS Hutchins…20 months after it was postmarked!
I have copied a few of those letters onto this Web Site. These letters
not only display the interesting entrepreneurial style of the era, but
the feeling of trust, respect and admiration amongst the photographers.
A book could be written on the letters alone. People who never met in
their lives becoming fast friends, discussing politics, family…and,
even the merits and deficiencies of “Cab-Forwards.”
Some of the photographers
in his collection:
Ralph Graves (Enid, OK)
R.J. Foster (East St. Louis, IL)
James Bowie (Brooklyn, NY)
Joseph Lavelle (Woodside, L.I. NY)
J.B.Mann (Roanoke, VA)
Joseph Schick (Keenesburg, CO)
Robert M. Hanft (El Cerrito, CA)
W.D. Barry, Jr. (Dallas, TX)
C.W. Witbeck (West Jackson, MS)
Norman Douglas (Brentwood, CA)
George W. Pettengill, Jr. (St. Petersburg, FL)
Larry Gaillard (Summerville, SC)
Bruce Bowden (Waltham, MA)
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