Whalens of the Milwaukee RR

The name Whalen was deeply imbedded in the history of the Millwaukee Railroad from the mid-late 1800's to the mid-1950's When William J Whalen (known by my Generaton as "Great Uncle Bill") retired in 1958. An exerp from the May / June Milwauke Magazine pretty well summarizes the era of this family dynasty.

The familiar term "Mlwaukee Road Family" does not actually have reference to the Whalens. It just seems that it very well might, for certainly no family has ever more perfectly typified that larger family group than have the kinsmen of Martin and Mike, the brothers who began that colorful chapter of Milwaukee Road history long before the turn of the century"

For you history buffs who enjoy looking at the past from pictures and stories, there is a tab titled Milwaukee 1958 Magazine the takes you through the operational aspects of railroading in a different era. The advertisements are as interesting as the articles.

Another tab for those interested in family history is the article about Martin J. Whalens retirement. The Whalens were a formidable group in what was in it's day a highly structured and disiplined environment. I have friends in the telecommunication industry that actually worked under him who would tell you he ran operations with an iron fist and a man to avoid being visible when he was in you district!

I only met Great Uncle Bill one time in the late 1940's when he and Grandpa (Martin Whalen) bought my two Aunts, Sue and Jean to spend some times with other siblings who were raised apart after our Grandmother Susie (Clinton) passed away. He like my Grandad were fun people to be around. Crertainly not as curt as my friends described <(;>).

Finally, Great Uncle Bill had a nephew who along with his spouse retired from the Milwaulee Railroad after 30 plus years. Better know to my generation as Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty. Betty started working for the Railroad in the mid 1940's in Spokane, WA. Uncle Bill was in a Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Deer Lodge, Montana at the time. When he was released from the Hospital, he likewise joined the railroad where they worked in Vantage, Moses Lake and Seattle, Washington.

Pat Walls