21 Years On The Erie Railroad

In 1944 the main headquarters of the Erie Railroad Company were located in the Midland Building, Cleveland, Ohio. The Erie at that time issued pay checks twice a month, on the 15th and the last day of the month.

The checks for the employees that worked in my home town always arrived on eastbound passenger train Number 6 on the evening before the actual pay day. It was the custom to give out the pay check before the actual pay day if the employee wanted it, even though the check could not be cashed until the actual date on the check.

A man who worked on the track gang at that time was known to us as "The Swede." I never knew his actual name. He was probably 5 feet 11 inches tall, bald as an egg, very strong. I once saw him pick up a full-size railroad tie and carry it to the place where it was needed. A legend has it that "The Swede" could pick up a piece of rail by himself. His foreman saw it happen, told him to double-up with the rail. "The Swede" took it to mean that he should carry two pieces of rail, and he did. As I mentioned, this is a legend. There were many legends on the railroad.

Anyway, "The Swede" had a little business going on the side. It worked like this: he would meet Number 6 the evening before each pay day. Those who wanted their checks at that time would wait for the ticket clerk to hand out the checks. The next stop was to see "The Swede." "The Swede" would cash your check for a fee. The fee varied with each person. If your check happened to be in the amount of, say, $100.03, "The Swede" would ask you to sign the check, hand it to him, and he would give you
$100.00, keeping the 3 cents. However, if your check was for $100.97, "The Swede" would give you $100.00, keeping the 97 cents. I don't know whether or not this business was legal, but it surely did prove popular with those who didn't want to wait until next day to cash their checks.

I never saw "The Swede" without money. He was quiet, hardly said a word to anyone. He lived by himself in a little shack next to one of the two rivers that went through our town, and loved to fish. Another legend has it that two brothers of dubious character once decided to rid "The Swede" of some of his money. One of the brothers hit him with a baseball bat. "The Swede" just shrugged it off, threw one of the brothers into the river. The other brother ran, and wasn't seen in town for almost a month. No one else ever tried to take money from "The Swede."