Centenarian Salute

Edward Small

Some BLE members may have awakened Dec. 15 to find one of their own on NBC's Today Show. Edward Small of BLE Division 103 (Cheyenne, Wyo.) was a guest of Willard Scott that day as part of a week long salute to people from various walks of life who saw the entire 20th century.

From left, Willard Scott has breakfast with Meg Small and BLE member Edward Small.

Small, a BLE member for 62 consecutive years, was born on August 27, 1899 in Laramie, Wyo. He graduated from high school in 1918 and later went back to attend the University of Wyoming. He married Helen Martin in 1925, and has two children Martin J. Small and Joann M. McConnaughey.

Brother Small went firing on November 21, 1917 for the Union Pacific Railroad and was promoted to engineer in 1923. He became a BLE member in 1938. He was a Guide several times and lobbied for the BLE in the state of Wyoming. Small made his last run on August 19, 1969 on a streamliner - the City of Los Angeles - from Cheyenne to Laramie, Wyo.

After retirement, Brother Small worked as a night watchman, managed apartment buildings and used car lots. He is a member of Laramie Masonic Lodge #3 and is a past vice-president of the Optimist Club. During his Today Show appearance, he discussed many of the changes that he has seen in his lifetime including those in the transportation industry.

© 2000 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers