Parker Watched the World Go by on Railroad Tracks

By Dale Welch

As far back as he could remember, Jack Parker watched the world go by, on the railroad tracks next to where he grew up. His father and several of his uncles all worked for the Tennessee Central Railway.

Albert and Mollie Crain Parker lived with their family in a house, on the corner of S. Poplar St. and Commercial Ave. (where the VFW building and memorial currently sets), in Monterey. Albert had been a railroad man for almost 30 years by the time World War II broke out. Mollie was the daughter of Rev. Oliver C. and Carrie Goff Crain. The Crain’s were merchants until their store burned in a downtown Monterey fire.

  As the war picked up, several troop trains began passing the Parker home.  A curious six-year-old Jack thought trains were fascinating. Troop trains were extra trains and passed by his home on a regular basis. His mother told him to watch for the different colors of flags attached to the locomotives. A white flag meant that there was an extra train; a green one meant that an extra was coming behind it.

When the troop train would stop, the locomotives would unhook at S. Holly, as not to block the Holly and Chestnut crossings. The locomotives would stop at the shops, which were just east of S. Chestnut St., to take on water and coal and then return to pick up pick up their train cars. 

While unhooked, soldiers would pitch coins out the windows to children along the tracks. Jack would pick up the coins and take them to C. A. Bowers’ General Merchandise and load up on candy. When the next troop train would stop, Jack would pass out the candy to those soldiers. He kept that practice up until he decided to keep the candy for himself. One day, he heard one of the soldiers yell out, “Hi, Jack!” He said he never could see whomever it was.

A couple of years into the war, a different type of train would stop. Those cars held prisoners of war headed to the “Jap Camp,” located near Crossville. When those railcars stopped, Parker recalled that guards would hop off with big guns. Called the “Jap Camp,” the prisoner of war camp never held any Japanese prisoners. It only held around 1,500 German and Italian prisoners. The camp had been built on a former Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) campsite. Parker remembered seeing those prisoners on the side of the road near Monterey Lake, on Hwy. 70N clearing weeds along the highway with sickles.

Parker got to stay with his Crain grandparents quite a lot. His uncle, Dr. T.M. Crain had built the Crain’s a home on the corner of Hwy. 70N and Calfkiller Hwy. He remembered one time that civilian traffic wasn’t allowed on the highway. Instead, there was a huge military convoy where all sorts of military vehicles travelled along the highway throughout the night, heading to the east coast.

Besides seeing the world go by along the railroad tracks, young Jack Parker lived right across from the Palace Theater. He always got to see the latest movies and news reels. Jack’s brother, James was the popcorn guy, so Jack was taken care of when it came to popcorn. James stated keeping some of the profits, but theater manager, Frank Medley started counting bags before and after and figured it out. James was fired. Later, James was saved and called the theater owner and wanted to make amends. The owner forgave him and told him that he wasn’t paid enough anyway.

After World War II, the Monterey High School was running out of space. No longer in use, “Jap Camp” barracks were brought in and set up behind the school for the 7th and 8th grades. Parker said the barracks still had drawing and painting on the walls that were created by the prisoners. A couple of those paintings hung in the cafeteria of the new 1955 high school for many years, until someone threw them away, not knowing their history. Thankfully, someone retrieved them from the garbage and donated them to the Overton County Heritage Museum. They are now closer in the Cumberland County Military Museum.

When Jack was in the 8th grade, the teachers were having a teacher’s meeting. They sent an older student down to the barracks to watch them. The young man lit up a cigarette and some of the eighth graders did, too. Jack and several more got into trouble and Principal Frank Medley (yes, the theater manager) made them stay after school for three days. Jack was worried about explaining to his daddy why he was having to stay over, because he’d been told if he got into trouble at school, he would get a whipping at home. Fortunately for Jack, his grandfather Crain had a stroke and his dad stayed with him for those three days.

Parker recalled that Mr. Medley started a campaign to rid the town of rats. There were rats everywhere. There were rats in the movie theater and rats in the school, both of which he managed. Medley encouraged everyone to put out rat posion. Jack remembered the high school and theater smelling like dead rats for the longest time.

When Parker graduated from high school in 1953, he headed up north to find work. His first job was at a glass factory, in Muncie, IN.; a second job was a machinist at National Cash Register. His third job with the U.S. Postal Service became the career that raised his family. Before retiring in 1990, he was a letter carrier, clerk, an acting supervisor in various department, foreman, truck terminal supervisor, officer in charge at the West Alexandria, OH post office; and finally, the postmaster of Bellbrook, OH.

During all those years with the post office, Jack and wife, Merida (daughter of Rev. Enoch and Mary Alice Brown) had two sons. Not long after his retirement, the Parkers moved to Brownsburg, IN, because their second son needed a babysitter for his newborn son. It was the duty of grandparents to spoil any grandchildren.

The Parker’s two sons both became engineers. Their first son holds a Ph. D in electrical engineer and works with military laser technology. A second son is a chemical engineer and is a senior consultant with Pharm Co. Grandsons hold various degrees and work in the drug industry, nuclear engineering and into the missionary field.

His wife died a few years aogo, but as for Jack, he still watches the world go by.