Railroader Petroff Honored – 1953
Honored for 45 Years of Service With Milwaukee
Tom Petroff, who helped construct the Milwaukee Railroad through Missoula, was honored Wednesday for his 45 years of service. Division Roadmaster T. A. Prata presented Petroff and his wife with a lifetime silver pass, which is given to employes with 45 years of continuous service. Prata represented Division Superintendent J. T. Hayes, who was unable to be present for the ceremony in the office of Missoula Agent George Baker. Petroff completed 45 years of service June 1 of last year. He entered the employ of the road June 1, 1907, as an extra gang laborer when the railroad was laying track between Harlowton and Lemmon, S. D. In December, 1907, the gang traveled over the Northern Pacific Railway from Miles City to Lombard and on the Jawbone Railroad from Lombard to Harlowton. Milwaukee rails were not yet laid from Miles City to Harlowton. In February, 1909, the gang moved to Deer Lodge to complete work on the Deer Lodge-Alberton line, on which the rails already had been laid. Foreman of the gang was P. J. Cummins, who was later section foreman in Missoula. Petroff transferred to the Missoula section crew as a laborer in November, 1909 and was promoted to section foreman and assigned to Bonner four years later. He has been there for more than 39 years, during which the terminus of the Blackfoot line was extended from Potomac to Sunset and in 1933 to Cottonwood, its present terminus.
The above article appeared in the Daily Missoulian on January 15, 1953.