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Oldest Pullman porter dies
Well i bet Mr.Issacs could tell some great railroad stories! What a great era he worked in,and i remember as a kid what great workers they were! May Mr. Issacs rest in peace! Wow it sounds like he lived a very good life!! My thoughts and blessings to his family!
May the great spirit of the rails bless Mr. Issacs. Perhaps we could name a Pullman car after him. Hope Trains will publish his obit?
That porters made middle-class wages masks the similar-to- 1850’s working hours and obligations to employer’s requirements that were endured.
Let’s celebrate the whole membership of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car (note: not pullman car) Porters membership whose wages gave inspiration to generations.
The Brotherhood had a storefront on West 7th St. in Oakland, the sign over the doors spelled out large the union’s name in logo when I went to work passing by it.
Was fortunate to have met numerous Pullman porters. I miss them. Bless Mr. Issac’s soul.
I agree with Mr Brylawski that this deserves a more detailed account from Trains Mag or perhaps Classic Trains Mag. Mr. Issac’s passing offers an opportunity for reexamining the role and significance of Pullman Porters and perhaps getting some interesting accounts of his experiences from family or co workers if possible. Thank You
It would be interesting to know what trains he worked on. I assume trains run by Southern Pacific, since he lived in California.
Mr. Isaccs probably worked on the Santa Fe as the BNSF goes right-through Victorville, CA his hometown. Probably the Super Chief for sure!!!
God bless you Mr. Issacs. I guess that you had to put up with alot of BS from your passengers throughout the years. But I’m sure that your co-workers handled it with style and grace. I hereby second the motion that Amtrak names a new sleeping car after you!
R I P You were one of a kind !!
Back when there was a middle class. Now middle class folks pay within 4% of multimillionaires whose incomes are 400x greater.
For more about the lives and work of porters, I recommend David A. Peralta’s book, “Those Pullman Blues.” Sorry, I didn’t find a citation online, but I think it was published in the 1990s. The many first-hand accounts provide a fresh look at railroading. Some of the “carry-by” stories (when passengers miss their stop because a porter failed to wake or alert them) are really hilarious.
I agree; with all the hard work these men did, while facing so much hostility and discrimination, they are truly a credit to the railroad along with so many others whose names are unknown to us but whose works still remain. Let’s hear more about them! God bless Mr. Issacs.
Wow!
What a long and memorable life he had . . . and I’ll wager a pullman car load of stories to tell. I, too, believe his name ought to be on an Amttrak Sleeper. How 'bout it Mr. Boardman?
There are two other books about the Pullman Porters. The first one is Rising From The Rails by Larry Tye. The other one was called, Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggles. It was also made into a documentary that I saw many years ago on PBS around Labor Day. I think that it was written by James Sorrentino. But, I could be wrong. And, when you get to Union Station in DC, don’t forget to visit the A. Philip Randolph bust. It’s near the gates.
Some have said that the porter occupation was a demeaning one - but was it more demeaning to to be a porter, or a sharecropper, who had no way out of a life of perpetual poverty?
The porter had not only a good wage, but MOBILITY - the chance to explore other places and provide valuable information for his family and brethren yearning for a better, freer, way of life.
Thus, porters might be said to be pioneers, as well. Rest in Blessed Peace, Mr. Isaacs!
I would love to have a copy of their service guide - the guide that established their policy for dealing with customers. I bet it was one of the first of it’s kind, other than, possibly, the Fred Harvy Restaurant standard manual.
The porters may have been part of an “exclusive fraternity,” but that did not exempt them from the racist and bigoted practices of the Pullman Company, which also fought tooth and nail against their union. Ironically, some of the company’s most discriminatory practices occurred under Todd Lincoln, son of the “Great Emancipator.” (Lincoln succeeded George Pullman as president of the company.) Amazon lists several books about the conditions under which the porters labored, and there is a good documentary video available also, entitled “10,000 Black Men Named George.” The article seems to paint too rosy a picture of the porters’ true working conditions, and it is sad indeed that the last “eye witness” has now left us.
Agree that Mr. Isaacs passing should trigger an article or two in either Trains or Classic Trains on these men, what they endured, and their influence on the great social migrations and transformations of the early 20th Century.
It also would be fitting for Amtrak to name a car after him.
Question: What museum[s] or online sites exist which adequately tell their story??
Godspeed, Mr. Issacs! The Pullman Porters were a grand institution and people, and there’s been nothing at all like them since Pullman service ended, at least not in the broader public sector. The only way anyone now can gain such service is by paying enormous fares on (non-Amtrak) luxury trains, the cost of which greatly exceeds the average 18% above coach fare that bought a Pullman berth and the singular hospitality provided by a Pullman Company porter. A good tip didn’t hurt that service quality, either! wink