Title: Harold Amos "Denny" Densmore Family papers

Dates: 1925-2006

Collection Number: MS 702

Creator/Collector: Densmore, Harold Amos "Denny" Family

Extent: 1 half-box

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: Includes material about longtime Southern Pacific telegrapher and station agent Harold Densmore’s adult life collected by his daughter Sandra (Densmore) Parker.

Language of Material: English

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Harold Amos "Denny" Densmore Family papers. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Gift of Sandra Densmore Parker, 2008

Harold Amos “Denny” Densmore was born January 8, 1903 in Grimes, Iowa. In 1925, after a three-year enlistment in the United States Army ended, Mr. Densmore became a ticket agent for the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad. He left his position in 1938 and worked at a Greyhound bus depot in Evanston, Illinois. In 1942, he began his 26 career as a telegrapher and station agent for Southern Pacific. He worked at stations in Texas (San Antonio, Tyler) and Oregon (Gold Hill, Mapleton, Riddle, Myrtle Creek, West Scio, Coquille, and Roseburg). He was a member of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers, the First Christian Church in Charleston, Illinois, a Master of the Melrose Grange, Oregon state chairman of the Grange Education Committee, President of the Southern Oregon Health Association, and a Boy Scout Master. After his retirement in 1963, he belonged to local unit 58 of the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees in Roseburg. Mr. Densmore had a son, Harry and a daughter, Dorothy from his first marriage. He had one child, a daughter, Sandra, from his second marriage. He died on August 24, 1969 in Roseburg, Oregon.

Includes material about Harold Densmore’s adult life collected by his daughter Sandra (Densmore) Parker. Biographical information includes obituaries and Sandra's reminiscences about her father. A clippings file contains newspaper articles (1955 to 1960) about SP employee retirements, the activities of the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees local unit 58 in Roseburg, Oregon, the Boy Scouts, and the Melrose Grange. A copy of his enlistment record and honorable discharge are in the U.S. Army file. The Southern Pacific Railroad and Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad files contain congratulatory letters for outstanding service and for promotions or relocations. The Southern Pacific photogarphs file includes images of the Silverton and Gold Hill depots, and SP Southern Oregon family picnics. A few issues of an SP newsletter "The Grapevine" are included. A photo of the ticket office, a business card, and a page from a bus depot and terminal guide represent Mr. Densmore's work as a ticket agent for a Greyhound Bus Station in Evanston, Illinois. Also includes pay stubs from the Order of Railroad Telegraphers and correspondence with the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board. Mr. Densmore liked to draw and write poetry. The collection contains sketches of Mapleton and West Scio, Oregon and some of his poetry. Much of this material has been included in a memory book designed by his daughter Sandra Densmore Parker. This book includes additional biographical information, photographs, and genealogical information. Arranged alphabetically by subject.