Fenton, you reminded me of the sulfur water in Callahan, FL. We moved from Jacksonville to Callahan when I was in the first grade, and I had to put a clothes pin on my nose to take a bath. I couldn’t drink it out of the tap, but it was tolerable when cold, so I kept a quart jar of water in the refrigerator for drinking. We lived there three years, and I gradually got used to it, but it was never pleasant.

Callahan was a good railroad town, with a crossing and tower, small yard, etc. about four blocks from my house. A friend’s dad was one of the tower operators, and I got to go up into the tower to watch him line tracks and interlocking. It was mostly steam in 1949-50, and locomotives and freight cars looked entirely different from the tower. I must admit getting totally bored between trains, and I decided I wanted a career with a little more involvement. I don’t remember the railroads, probably Seaboard, maybe Southern or FEC. Another friend’s dad worked the FGE icing platform outside Jacksonville. He was the biggest, strongest man I had ever seen.

Thanks for the memories, well, some of them.

Nelson Moyer