> Several of us were privileged to be
> able to visit his rather isolated layout.
> --snip--
> He certainly was a hardy fellow at
> that time and a generous host.
> Bob Werre
My memories of Jesse (with second "E", but pronounced without) are numerous and
interesting. My first visit was a several-day camping experience in his
so-called back yard in my VW camper with wife and three kids. His back yard
was some huge number of acres that was larger than anything around the San
Francisco area. Not sure how large exactly, but he raised timber, cattle,
wheat, and lots of grasshoppers on his land. Going from an aged memory, here
are my recollections:
Jesse started out in the midwest somewhere as a young man and migrated to
Orange County in southern California back in the days before many people were
there. I seem to recall he "rode the rods" out here, but that could be
inaccurate since many decades have passed since that conversation. He bought
land and raised oranges and was a happy man. As time went on, Orange County
(just east of Los Angeles) became very popular and more settled and, in Jesse's
opinion, too crowded. So he sold out and moved to rural Idaho.
Again he bought land and lots of it. I am vague on the details, but he either
raised wheat or leased out the land to a wheat farmer. Not sure which, but
what the hey.... He had lots of trees and cut some of them down himself,
dragged them in to town to the local sawmill, had 'em cut up, dragged the wood
back to his property and built himself a house. Living space on the ground
floor with the entire second floor dedicated to an S scale empire with a small
shop area at one end. Jesse carried the hobby of "scratchbuilding" to new
levels since he grew the trees, cut 'em down, cut 'em up, and made his own wood
ties for his model railroad. Anyone else ever do that?
Jesse was active in several of the S scale circuit letters of the day. He was
very independent and never felt a strong need for a telephone. Thus, snail
mail was the only way to communicate with Jesse. He finally got a telephone
very late in life -- somewhere in the late '70s or early '80s if I remember
correctly. Why so long?
Well, his house was very rural -- at the end of a many-miles-long dirt road and
then he had a so-called driveway (ruts in the field grass) that went another
half mile or so. The phone company tried hard to have him sign up for a phone,
but they wanted $1,500 or more to run the line out to his house. He never felt
the cost was worth it and so he turned down the opportunity many times.
Eventually, the phone company lowered the price (maybe to free?) and Jesse gave
in and the phone was installed. He then knew happiness in a way he never knew
it before. If he were a younger person in this age of the I-net, he would be
an active participant.
He treated us well during our visit. We all got to use the hot water shower,
eat meals in his house, go hiking, went fishing, and chased grasshoppers all
over his backyard. My three kids had never had a wild grasshopper experience
before and this was the highlight of the trip for them. Thousands of 'hoppers
would jump up in front of you as you ran through the fields. Almost right up
there with a locust plague. But it was a hoot to be sure.
Jesse liked visitors and always went out of his way to make sure they had a
good time. I went back many years later and, for better or worse, not much had
changed since my first visit 20 years earlier. I was told that Arden Goehring
is his adopted second son because Arden spent so much time up there in the
summer. Both Arden and Jesse were UP fans and had much in common. Jesse's
biological son had little interest in trains and so Arden filled that void very
nicely. Many of the rocks on Arden's UP empire (to be on tour at NASG's 2011
convention) are from Jesse's back yard. How's that for authenticity?
Sorry to hear the news, but the memories are most fond.
For photos of his layout and a track plan, I would suggest that the NASG
library be contacted for a loan/copy of a past issue of 3/16 'S'cale
Railroading magazine. Great Bob Werre photos, interesting text and Editor
Karnes used one of the photos on the front cover. A really neat shot of a long
UP train trundling over an S-shaped trestle that was probably 15 feet long in
total. Only Jesse would build a l-o-n-g trestle in the shape of an "S".
Anyone else ever do that?
Take care.....Ed L.
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
