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Poem
by: Mr. Rexford Price
The poem on this page is by Mr. Rexford Price who was a Water Plant Engineman employed by the Cincinnati Water Works from
1918 to 1955. Rex worked at
Main Station when the conversion
from steam to electric occurred. The engines ran from
10-6-1906 to 12-2-1952.
The art work is by
Charlie Thomas,
who was employed at the CWW as an oiler at the Tennyson Station. As Paul Kraus recalls, a retired
employee of GCWW, Mr. Thomas was a thin man that ate constantly but never sat down to
eat. He was a commercial artist prior to entering the service during
WW II, and the only crash survivor of a B-25. In addition, Mr. Kraus recalls as the Holiday season approached, every office
window at Tennyson Station was painted by Mr. Thomas with beautiful Holiday theme
art work They were always sad to see the amazing art work washed from
the windows after the first of the year.
Read poem text below artwork
Goodbye Mr. Holly
'Twas the morning of December 2,
That we shut off the steam from 1 and 2
and Lou was sad and he said to the gang
from now on boys-those engines won't bang.
So they cooled them down and drained them dry.
It won't be long 'til we bid them goodbye.
'Cause the junkman's coming to take them away
And we'll put in electric some future day.
The days of romance have gone out with those wheels
And I know just about how everyone feels.
But progress must keep on moving ahead
And it surely won't stop until we're all dead.
So goodbye to the engines that served us so long
We're sure going to miss them, we've heard their last bong.
They're silent and cold, and in time they'll rust
But they'll take them away, the ones we could trust
And in their place, some day we'll find
Electric pumps that don't groan and grind.
So goodbye to the engines that served many years
There won’t be any moaning or shedding of tears
And things will go on just the same as before
And the water will flow forevermore.
REX
By: Mr. Rexford Price
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