8/14/2019 728th No Trains to Catch

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22A The C e d a r Rapids Gazette: Su n . . Ju l y 12,1981

No trains to catch for WW II rail builders

Pho to by Art H o u g hJ a c k W a d s w o r th o f W a u k o n d i s p l a y s o n e of s e v e ra l d o z e n p h o to g r a p h s

he took of the recons tr uc t i on of ra i l r oads in Eur ope duri ng World War II .

DELHI They came by car andthey came by van to their 23rd reunionat Delhi and Dyersville this weekend,but none of these men who helped keepthe railroads running for the Allies inWorld War II came by rail. That was theirony for these surviving members ofCompany A, 728th Railway Ope ratingBattalion: you can't get here from thereon atrain anymore.

Between 30 and 35 veterans of "A"and their families are winding downthree days of fun and nostalgia thismorning, preparatory to heading back toOhio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, as well as parts of Iowa and itsneighboring states.

Dick and Marian Overman of Delhihosted this year's reunion, which wasofficially headqu artered in the ColonialMotel at Dyersville.

Friday was sort of a get-reacquaintedday atthe motel. On Saturday thereunioners traveled to Delhi for a picnicget-together atthe Overman home,followed by some pontoon boating onLake Delhi. They held their banquet andbusiness meeting Saturday evening atErtl's restaurant in Dyersville.

It was a relati vely quiet week end forsurvivors of Company A, which originally numbered about 200, quiet compared to what these former railroad menwere doing in Europe nearly 40 yearsa g o .

Railroad battalions played vital rolesin World War s I and II. They ser ved forthe last time in the Korean conflict.Their purpose was to move ammunition,food, fuel, etc., across war-torn countries, because railroads could move morein volume than any other source oftransportation.

Company A went to France with thebatta lion after D-Day and rebu iltbombed railroad yards and bridges andoperated railroads that had been takenover by the U.S.

Railroad battalions were part ofRailway Grand Divisions, which operated under Military Railway Service,each battalion sponsored by aU.S.railroad. The 728th was sponsored bythe L&N Railroad. The battalion, about1,000 strong atthe start, tookitstechnical training under the Santa FeRailroad, in Clovis, N.M., spent a monthat Fort Snelling , Minn., then sailed from

Boston for the European Theater ofOperations, where they served for twoyears in England, France and Germany.

The 728th was composed offourcompanies, A, B, C and Headquar ters,most of them seasoned railroad men.Company A was for section men; B, theroundhouse gang, and C, train andengine, brakemen and conductors, firemen and engineers.

Jack Wadsworth of Waukon, a membe r ofCompany A, was "official"photographer for his company. Anexpert photographer, he shot severalhundred pictures, starting with basictechnical training at Clovis in 1943. Hebrought along to the reunion over 50 ofthe enlarged photographs, to feed thenostalgia of his former buddies.

Jack recalls the company trained inEngland for almost ayear, puttingtogether gondolas and boxcars so theywere ready for use when they got toFrance. Jack helped draw up maps ofFrench railroads during the bombing ofLondon.

In Germany, he said, there wasn't atrain running when they got there. Hesaid the Americans more or less supervised the reconstruction of the Germanrailroads, traveling through Bavaria bymotor car to check the facilities.Wadsworth, who ended the war withthe rank ofT/5 instrument man/surveyor, is high in his praise of the menof Compa ny A, most of whom wer erailroad section hands long before thewar started.

"We used to try to lay out swit cheswith stakes," he recalled. "These oldsection foremen would stand back withtheir eye and look down the track. Theywouldn't pay any attention to the stakes,s e e , and they could lay out aswitchbetter than we could."

Using his Zeiss Ikonta camera, Wadsworth collected a variety of pictures ofthe war from complete devastation ofbridges and cities to unscathed cathe

drals; men at work assembling railwaycars or repairing tracks; weekend breaksin London, chow lines . . .pictures ofhis buddies at work and at play.

Jack quickly shuffled through the pileof pictures, talking as he went along:

"This," he laughed, "looks like theywere ready for abig battle. Actually,they were going for a beer in Germany.

"One time, one of the cars derailed,"he held up another picture, "and theguard was thrown off. He hit adog. Afarm girl came running out. Theythought she wanted to look after theguard. She went for the dog."

Wadsworth, 66, graduated from theUniversity ofIowa in1941 with abachelor's degree in commerce. He tooka job with the Milwaukee Road atSavann a, 111. Later, h e got a job in tr ainservice with the Milwaukee at Dubuque.He enlisted in 1943 at the age of 28.

Still single when he returned toWaukon after the war, he had to registerwith the draft board. Which was a goodthing, because that's how he met thepresent Mrs. Wadsworth, who was aclerk in the Selective Service office.They were married in 1946 and have fivechildren.

Jack worked for the state HighwayDepartment for a year and then was withthe Welfare Department from 1950 to1 9 5 5 , and with Iowa Blue Cross-BlueShield from 1955 to1968. He wasdistrict manager at Wenatchee, Wash.,of the Washington-Alaska Blue Cross-Blue Shield from 1968 until his reti rement in 1978.

Railroads played a tremendous part inmoving troops and war materiel acrossthe United States during World War II.

But, most of the railroads are gone orgoing now and in response to a question,Jack Wadsworth painted a bleak picture not only for the future of railroads,but for the future of civilization.

"Well, you know, if we have anotherwar Idon't think it will be the war weknew," he said. "I think itwill be aterrible, destructive war, an atomic war.I don't think we'll use ground troops orinfantry.

"If they get this nuclear programmoving, it will be the end of us.

"We won't need railroads."

8/14/2019 728th No Trains to Catch

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22A The C e d a r R a pid s Gazet te: Sun . . J u l y 12,1981

N o trains to catch for WW II rail builders

P h o t o by Art H o u g hJa ck Wad swor th of Wau kon displays one of severa l dozen p hoto grap hs

he took of the reconst ru ct ion of ra i l roads in Europe dur i ng World War I I .

DELHI They came by car andthey came by van to their 23rd reunionat Delhi and Dyersville this weekend,but none of thes e men who helped k eepthe railroads running for the Allies inWorld War II came by rail. That was theirony for these surviving members ofCompany A, 728th Railway OperatingBattalion : you can't get here from thereon atrain anymore.

Between 30 and 35 veterans of "A"and their families are winding downthree days of fun and nostalgia thismorning, preparatory to heading back toOhio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, as well as parts of Iowa and itsneighboring states.

Dick and Marian Overman of Delhihosted this year's reunion, which wasofficially headquartered in the ColonialMotel at Dyersville.

Friday was sort of a get-reacquaintedday atthe motel. On Saturday thereunioners traveled to Delhi for a picnicget-together atthe Overman home,followed by some pontoon boating onLake Delhi. They held their banquet andbusiness meeting Saturday evening atErtl's restaurant in Dyersville.

It was a relative ly quiet weeken d forsurvivors of Company A, which originally numbered about 200, quiet compared to what these former railroad menwere doing in Europe nearly 40 yearsag o .

Railroad battalions played vital rolesin World War s I and II. They serv ed forthe last time in the Korean conflict.Their purpose was to move ammunition,food, fuel, etc., across war-torn countries, because railroads could move morein volume than any other source oftransportation.

Company A went to France with thebattal ion after D-Day and re builtbombed railroad yards and bridges andoperated railroads that had been takenover by the U.S.

Railroad battalions were part ofRailway Grand Divisions, which operated under Military Railway Service,each battalion sponsored by aU.S.railroad. The 728th was sponsored bythe L&N Railroad. The battalion, about1,000 strong atthe start, tookitstechnical training under the Santa FeRailroad, in Clovis, N.M., spent a monthat Fort Snelling , Minn., then sailed from

Boston for the European Theater ofOperations, where they served for twoyears in England, France and Germany.

The 728th was composed offourcompanies, A, B, C and Headqua rters,most of them seasoned railroad men.Company A was for section men; B, theroundhouse gang, and C, train andengine, brakemen and conductors, firemen and engineers.

Jack Wadsworth of Waukon, a membe r ofCompany A, was "official"photographer for his company. Anexpert photographer, he shot severalhundred pictures, starting with basictechnical training at Clovis in 1943. Hebrought along to the reunion over 50 ofthe enlarged photographs, to feed thenostalgia of his former buddies.

Jack recalls the company trained inEngland for almost ayear, puttingtogether gondolas and boxcars so theywere ready for use when they got toFrance. Jack helped draw up maps ofFrench railroads during the bombing ofLondon.

In Germany, he said, there wasn't atrain running when they got there. Hesaid the Americans more or less supervised the reconstruction of the Germanrailroads, traveling through Bavaria bymotor car to check the facilities.

Wadsworth, who ended the war withthe rank ofT/5 instrument man/surveyor, is high in his praise of the menof Company A, most of whom wererailroad section hands long before thewar started.

"We used to try to lay out switcheswith stakes," he recalled. "These oldsection foremen would stand back withtheir eye and look down the track. Theywouldn't pay any attention to the stakes,s e e , and they could lay out aswitchbetter than we could."

Using his Zeiss Ikonta camera, Wadsworth collected a variety of pictures ofthe war from complete devastation ofbridges and cities to unscathed cathe

drals; men at work assembling railwaycars or repairing tracks; weekend breaksin London, chow lines . . .pictures ofhis buddies at work and at play.

Jack quickly shuffled through the pileof pictures, talking as he went along:

"This," he laughed, "looks like theywere ready for abig battle. Actually,they were going for a beer in Germany.

"One time, one of the cars derailed,"he held up another picture, "and theguard was thrown off. He hit adog. Afarm girl came running out. Theythought she wanted to look after theguard. She went for the dog."

Wadsworth, 66, graduated from theUniversity ofIowa in1941 with abachelor's degree in commerce. He tooka job with the Milwaukee Road atSavann a, 111. Later, he got a job in t rainservice with the Milwaukee at Dubuque.He enlisted in 1943 at the age of 28.

Still single when he returned toWaukon after the war, he had to registerwith the draft board. Which was a goodthing, because that's how he met thepresent Mrs. Wadsworth, who was aclerk in the Selective Service office.They were married in 1946 and have fivechildren.

Jack worked for the state HighwayDepa rtme nt for a year and then was withthe Welfare Department from 1950 to1 9 5 5 , and with Iowa Blue Cross-BlueShield from 1955 to1968. He wasdistrict manager at Wenatchee, Wash.,of the Washington-Alaska Blue Cross-Blue Shield from 1968 until his retirement in 1978.

Railroads played a tremendous part inmoving troops and war materiel acrossthe United States during World War II.

But, most of the railroads are gone orgoing now and in response to a question,Jack Wadsworth painted a bleak picture not only for the future of railroads,but for the future of civilization.

"Well, you know, if we have anotherwar Idon't think it will be the war weknew," he said. "I think itwill be aterrible, destructive war, an atomic war.I don't think we'll use ground troops orinfantry.

"If they get this nuclear programmoving, it will be the end of us.

"We won't need railroads."

Brewing beer was integral partof Amana Colonies' early daysEditor's Note: Ted Heinze, a

native of Middle Amana, occasion-ally writes articles on historic as-pects of the Amana Colonies.

By Ted He inzeFree-lance writer

THE AMANA COLONIES While winer ies abound inth eAmana Colonies today, at one timethe settlement could boast of fourbeer breweries.

The brewing ofbeer by thefounders of the Colonies dates backto the earlier settlements of Upper,Middle, Lower and New Ebenezer,in New York state nea r Buffalo,following. the set tlers' emigrationfrom Germany.

When the settlers moved intotheir new home in Iowa in the early1850s, the Colonies establishedbreweries because beer remainedmore palatable, possibly safer todrink than the local water and it didsupply some nourishment.

It is believed that the two beerformulas used by the Amanas weredeveloped inthe old Ebenezerbreweries, rather than in Germany,because the formulas contain cornas an adjunct to the barley malt toprovide a percentage of the starchesthat are converted into sugar duringthe brewing process. The use of corn

is an innovatio n of America n breweries.

There were four breweries in theColonies: one each in Amana, Middle Amana, Homestead and SouthAmana. All the breweries hadcellars that were dug into hillsidesand were located near the village icehouse or butcher shop.

The best known brewery was atAmana just east of the Meat Market.The brewery was built into and overthe hillside, and large hooks in theceiling on the main floor were usedto suspend hoses sothe beermixt ure could flow from uppe rfloors to adeep cellar for coolingand fermenting. The brewery wasrazed in the 1950s.

Figures on the beer production,taken from aregister ofU.S.brewer ies from 1876 to 1976, showthat the Colonies ' brewer iesproduced approximately 62,000 gallons annually. This amounted to anaverage consumption of 35.3 gallonsof beer per person, which is somewhat more than the current U.S.average of 24.3 gallons. However,the Colonies' beer consumption wasless than in most European countries, according to the U.S. BrewersAssociation and Encyclopedia Brit-tanica.

It is notable that the Colonies'

'Concerts-in-the-park'planned at West BranchWEST BRANCH The West

Branch Chamber of Commerce andthe National Park Service havescheduled six musical "concerts-in-the-park" tobe offered free ofcharge onconsecutive Thursdaynights, beginning July 16, at theHerbert Hoover National HistoricSite in West Branch.

The concerts will be held at theNational Historic Site bandstand atParkside and Main streets. In theevent of rain, the concerts will beheld in the West Branch Town Hallacross the street from the bandstand.

All concerts begin at 7 p.m. Theschedule includes: July 16, WestBranch Community Band; July 23,Sweet Adelines Chorus; July 30,

Charles Gavin brass quintet; Aug. 6,a surprise performance; Aug. 13, theEd Sarath jazz quartet; and Aug. 20,West Branch Minstrels.

Coffee drinkersFinland isthe champion per

capita coffee-consuming country inthe world, gulping down about fivecups aday for every man, womanand child. But the United States,which averages less than half thatamount per person, buys morecoffee than anyone else; itpurchased some 1.2 million tons in1979 .

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high beer consumption was during atime ofhard work for Amanasettlers. There was construction oi*residences inthe seven villages,factories and shops, and the diggingof asix-mile canal from the IowaRiver.

Also, it is notable that beer wasproduced and consumed during theentire time when the Colonies hadinspired religious leaders. Though,as in most religions, excessive usewas denounced, beer drinking wasaccepted and used as a natural partof life in the Colonies.

It is surprising that many residents of the Amanas did not knowabout the old breweries until about10 years ago when Paul and EmmaZimmerman of South Amana beganmarketing beer made with the old-time Amana recipes. The beer isbrewed in Wisconsin and distributedin the Colonies under the name"Gemei nde Brau" and "ColonieBrau."

This lack of knowledge about thebreweries is possible because theyoperated from the 1850s until 1884,when Iowa adopted aprohibitionlaw. The breweries were then closedand eventually abandoned. However, for a time they were used tostore communal wine usedforsacramental services.

O n this dateIn 1933, a new indust rial code was estab lished

to fix a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour in theUnited States.

An old photo shows the brewery at Amana before it was razed in the 1950s.

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