I was very sorry I didn't get there before brother died. I stayed with them 3 days, with brothers girls. All married and live here in town. Very fine women and they have fine men. They made me welcome and showed me a good time, showing me the city of Birmingham, the largest city in the South.

I visit the railroad shop where I went to work when I was 15 years old. Father was General Supt. of the shops and he put me on as fireman on a switch engine and it wasn't long until I worked myself up until I could handle an engine so well Father made me the engineer on the switch yard. It was my job to switch the coach cars together and pull them out of the yard to the main line and schedule time. As I approached the old switch yard and the old machine shops I think back 40 years ago when I was 15 years old and how I ran a switch engine over this yard. As I stop and look over this ship and yards it seems like a dream, it brings back so many memories that happened so many years ago. I go into the office and to my surprise I meet Mr. J.C. Schoat, the President of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company. Mr. Schoat was President when I worked here. He was about 75 years old so I recognized him and made myself known. I said: I am the son of Z.D. Robinson. He looked amazed for a moment and said: You aren't the boy engineer, are you? I said: Yes, sir, I certainly am. He said: Well, well boy, where in the world have you been so long. It has been several years since I have seen you...We talked a good while, he was very glad to see me and to welcome me and said: Just make yourself at home. I said: Thank you very much, Mr. Schoat. I am very glad to visit your shops and to meet you again. And I asked him if it isn't too much trouble I would like to look over your records of the last two years that father worked for his company. He Said: Sure, I'll be delighted to show you. What year was that? I said: It was 1888 or 1889. He wasn't long in finding the book. He said: here is your fathers record. He was General Supt. of the shop and yards; his salary was $300.00 per month. The company was well pleased with his work and we hated to give him up. Then he said: Here is two years work of O.L. Robinson, one year as switch engineer on the switch yard and one year as engineer on One Passenger train on the Mobile Division No.10...Mr. Schoat is a very tender hearted old fellow and reading this old record brings his memory back 40 years ago when he was a young man of 25 years old. I see tears in his eyes as he talks and tells me this story:

O.L., I'll never forget the morning that you was 16 years old, you came into this office with a brand new pair of engineer overalls on and I'll never forget how your father and elder brother escorted you to the passenger yard, and how every employee congratulated and cheered you as you go to the passenger shed.

O.L., I just see you as your father took you by the arm and helped you up into the cab of that wonderful No. 1 passenger engine, the engine your father built in this shop the second year after the Civil War. Boy, I can see you as you sit there in that cab with your hand on the throttle looking back to your conductor for the start signal, and when the signal was given and your fireman rang the bell and you pulled out to the main line, 200 men threw their hats in the air as they cheered you as you pulled out. Boy, you made a record for bravery of taking the great responsibility of engineering a passenger train. You have a record of being the youngest engineer that ever pulled a Mobile engine on to division and a main line. O.L., you made a good record. I don't see but one wreck that you had in the 12 months you ran on this railroad, and then the company gave you credit as it was absolutely necessary you had it to do. O.L., you remember when you ran up on two little children on the tracks? They were so excited they stayed right on the tracks. O.L., the reason the company gave you so much credit is that you used such good judgement, being just a boy. O.L., you know how you stepped on your steam brakes and told your fireman not to blow the whistle for the little fellows was scarred to death anyway. O.L., you had good presence of mind to have two great responsibilities on you--one ahead and one behind you.

Mr. M.J. Small, your conductor, is the one that gave in the accident and damage report to the company. Mr. Small said: I saw the whole incident from start to finish. I was standing between the coaches looking ahead. I could see around the curve and I could tell he was very close to the two children. He had all the brakes on but they did not seem to check very much. Mr. Small said you threw your engine in reverse for a second, just enough to set your passengers good in their seats. He said you were gaining on them and you threw your engine in reverse again for a minute. As you was just about to run into them you threw the engine in reverse a third time and held it there to a stop. He said you threw your rear coach off the track but you stopped within 20 feet of the two little children.

O.L., Mr. Small said he has been a conductor for 10 years up to that time and had been in several wrecks, but he never was in one where his engineer used such good judgement. He said you did not get excited or nervous, but stayed on the job. Mr. Small said he didn't know at the time why you reversed your engine the third time before you stopped. He soon realized the fact that you knew your business-he knew you were doing your best to save the children and all the passengers. He said you handled your engine successfully and if you had of reversed your engine to a sudden stop you would have threw the whole train off that track. As there were about 75 passengers on board, there was no doubt in my mind there would have been several killed.

He said the boy engineer was the most perfect engineer that ever pulled an engine over any Division, he had his schedule and he was always right on time. O.L., this was the report Mr. Small turned into the headquarters in regard to the wreck.

Mr. Schoat told me one story after the other that occurred when I worked for them. As it is noon, we are going to take lunch together at L.A. Inn Hotel and Mr. Schoat said: I will be delighted in showing you through the yards and shops. When we are through with lunch we went back to the yards. I hear the old switch engines switch the ringing of the bells. Oh, my, it made me think back so many years ago when I would pull the leavers and my fireman would ring the bell and I would switch around and around over those old switch yards. We go on now and we come to the engine department where the engines are kept.

I see some of the largest engines I ever saw, some of them weighed 22 tons--200 horse power. They are magnificent! We go on looking at the wonderful engines and at last we come to an engine room that is locked up. The old president unlocked the door and to my surprise, there was old Engine No. 1, locked up and retired from service. She was all plilished and mounted with silver all over and shinning like a star. It was the most beautiful engine I ever saw and is the most wonderful piece of mechanical machinery that was ever built in this machine shop. I was encouraged and rejoiced as I walked and looked at this old engine. The old president caught me by the arm and said: O.L., get up in the cab and get on the seat. I want to see how you look... I got up and caught the leavers and looked out ahead and looked back like I used to. Oh, it carried my mind back so many years ago. As I sit here in this old engineer seat I think of so many times I pulled this old No.1 out on the main line--how many times I looked out of this old cab window, looking around the curves and when I looked ahead my way would look so dark. Oh, how many times this old engine has pulled me around the great Gulf of Mexico and around the great Mobile Bay- -I see the high tides swished over my track in places and all my coaches would be full of passengers and how such great fear would come over me. I would look back to see if my conductor would give me a signal of any kind but he did not and I had to stay on my own time. As I sit here with my elbow propped up in this window and my head laying on my hand I was completely lost in thought of things so many years ago, the tears were running down my cheeks as I looked over the beautiful hand work of my fathers, who, with his own hands had made this engine.

I looked around at my old president and it looked like he wanted to say something to encourage me. He said: O.L., you know that money would never buy this engine. It is going to stand in this engine room apartment on exhibition, just to look at for all time to come. It is noted for its long life and long service. Do you know how old this old hero is? I said: Yes, sir, if I aint mistaken, it is 72 years old. He said: you are right. We took it off the railroad 20 years ago. It served 52 years solid time on the main line. It had the most wonderful recommendation of any engine that this company has ever owned. We haven't had an engine that made a record over 20 years of service. He said: O.L., I just want to say, in honor of your father, that Z.D. Robinson was the most perfect natural machinest that the company ever had. That is why we are keeping this old hero here on exhibition as the most wonderful piece of mechanical machinery that was ever built in this shop. Then he said: I was never uneasy or afraid when you started out with this old No.1 that you wouldn't get back; we knew you would. In all the 52 years of service this old hero never had to be pulled in by another engine.

Now it is getting late, I began to make my way out of here. I could hardly get away from that old wonderful president that I used to love so much, very tender hearted old fellow. I thanked him for his kindness and the courtesy he showed me. I told him I would have, to go and gave him my hand. He clasped my hand and we cried together.

I make my way to the bus station leaving those wonderful old shops, I used to love so well, It made me Oh, so sad as I look back. I am at the bus station now ready to go down the old highway. I was encouraged to see so many beautiful homes and such wonderful improvement in this city. It was just a small village 40 years ago when I lived here. Now it is the largest city in the South. As I go through the residential part of Birmingham it seemed like to me it was the most beautiful city I ever saw in my life. As I get out of the city limits I come to the Iron Mountain, the old L & N rail road the highway follows as far as I go. I see the great fruit trains and passenger trains passing--sure makes me think back so many years ago. I look up and down this wonderful old rail road thinking how many times that old No. 1 engine I have just left has pulled me over and around and through these mountains. How thankful I am to have the priviledge of visiting my old home country and seeing so many things that look so natural. As we follow the rail road around these great curves through these great mountains,I look out and see on each side of the road and see the beautiful flowers and natural scenery that comes from God's own Hand. As I think back so many years ago, how many times I sat in the cab window of my engine and looked over this beautiful scenery. It encouraged me to have the priviledge of seeing so many things that I used to enjoy.

I come to Jimison, a village where we used to live and look out and see about the place where my pal and I was playing when my boy friend cut off my little toe. We were playing not very far from the house on a bridge and he had an ax. I wanted the ax and he wouldn't give it to me so I thought I would stop him from chopping so I stuck my food under the ax, but he chopped on just the same. That was the first thing came into my mind as I came to this place. The bus stopped a few minutes and I see some things that make me remember back 50 years ago. I see the old mill place and the old sawdust pile out at the edge of town. I just barely remember living here and some things tht occurred.

I didn't get off here but went to another village, its name is Lomax. I am now back in the country of my old home. This is the village where I went to work when my father moved back to Birmingham. Father had to retire from Public Business on account of bad health. I get off here at this village where I went to work when I was 17 or 18 years old...There was a saw mill co. here by the name of the Stewart SawMill Co. As you will see, in the beginning I mentioned the grade of an old log rail road--this was a booming little village at that time and as I had an engineers recommendation, I got the engineers job on this short line, pulling logs from the mountains to this mill in this village. I got off here for a little time and take a stroll around to see what there was. I find nothing but the ruins of a little village, once a thriving little town with sawmill industrial business, good farming country around it. As I go around looking over the location of this big old mill, it was sad to see the old ruins and rubish which was once a lively little town. Sure makes me sad as I look up and down that old railroad grade which has been abandoned, the road that I pulled so many logs into this old mill. As I sit here, come back to my memory--what great loads of logs that little old dinky engine could pull. How it would huff and puff and blow when pulling 8 or 10 cars of logs up those mountains and long grades. I remember how I enjoyed seeing that engine pull and how it would twist and rock and put me in mind of a little span of mules pulling a big load in a sand bed. It would keep scratching until it would get over the mountains. OH, how I did enjoy the rail road work and working for my father after he was disabled to work. My salary was $100 per month. Oh, how happy & delighted in going home and handing over my pay check to my father, it looked like it encouraged him so in his afflictions. Oh, it would please me so much to work and know I could be of so much help to him. I thought so much of him I stayed with him until he died. Oh, I was proud of him. He delighted in telling and showing me how to do anything and I had so much confidence in him, I knew he knew everything.

Oh, I knew when I got out of a job and wanted one I could set in fathers tracks and follow him up with his widely known name. I didn't need any recommendation the name of D.Z. Robinson was enough. I was proud of his name.

I didn't work for this company long, something like a year, when I was about 18 years old. This company went out of business as saw timber got so scarce. So I went home for a rest. I was not there but a few days till the Fox Mall saw mill and Plainer Mill Co. wrote to my father wanting to know whether or not I would consider a position as foreman of the Plainer Mill, which my Uncle Charley Robinson (fathers youngest brother) was in charge at this time and was going to quit as he had a better proposition offered to him. So father considered the matter and asked me what I thought of their offer. I said: Father, if you think I can fill the job, I'll go. He said: Well, I'll let you go and I will write to the Co. and also to your Uncle that you will come at once. I will also write your Uncle to work with you a few days and instruct you in regard to the matching machine.

So I got over to the mills to take charge of the machinery.. As I was acquainted with Mr. Mall, the president of the company, we wasn't long in agreeing on the salary that father fixed for me. I took hold of the job, with Uncle's help, and wasn't long in catching on to the job. I was to get $100 per month with the understanding I was to get a $25. raise if I gave satisfaction. I worked hard on it and it wasn't long until I knew all about the machinery and the boss was well pleased with me, so I didn't work very long until I got the raise in salary. I worked hard and took great interest in myu work. One day I made a close examination of my flooring and sealing and I discovered that it was not matching like it ought to, so I examined the tongue and groove header and found out the header was worn out. The lumber wasn't miss-matched so bad that there was a kick back, but I put an order in to the Co. for a set of tongue and groove headers and in a little while I had them put in. It wasn't long until I had the flooring and siding matched up and fixed so well you could hardly tell where it was put together.

When Mr. Mall, the president, came around I got my pattern and showed him how well my flooring was matching, he was so well pleased with my work that he told me he wanted a pattern of this flooring, and he got one. Wasn't long until their business got so rushing they could not fill all the orders fast enough. So this company fell in love with me. I gained the confidence of this co. and kept everything in good shape and everything ran smoothly and we didn't have any trouble. I worked with this co. for 12 months.