Prairie Whistles; Tales of Midwest Railroading
Black Earth, WI: Trail Books, 2001. First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. viii, 128, [8] pages. Illustrations. Some Railroading Terms. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Inscription reads: Kerry: Best wishes! (Thought you might like the tale on page 42) warm regards Dennis Boyer. All aboard for a glimpse of life on the rails! Weaving together tales of railroading days gone by, this collection of personal reminiscences will delight any fail fan or traveler. Featured are stories of conductors, porters, carmen and tower operators from around the Midwest. Dennis Boyer is a folklorist and storyteller who wrote Great Wisconsin Taverns for Trails Books, in addition to three collections of Wisconsin-related folklore: Driftless Spirits, Giants in the Land, and Northern Frights. Boyer is a member of several railroad historical societies, has written extensively for local historical society publications, and is active in historical preservation groups. He also participates in historical reenactments, most notably as a railroad character he refers to simply as "the old carman." Some of the stories relate to The Great Northern Railway which was an American Class I railroad. Running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, it was the creation of 19th-century railroad entrepreneur James J. Hill and was developed from the Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad. The Great Northern's route was the northernmost transcontinental railroad route in the U.S. More