General Notes

Fritz is listed in the 1910 and 1920 Salt Lake City Directories. In 1910, he is called Fritz,works as a Brakeman at the D & RG and lives at 3 Brown's Court. In 1920, he is called Fred, works as a conductor for the D & RG and lives at 1936 Edison. In between the two, Fritz and Amelia lived at 238 Burno Avenue in Salt Lake City; this is the address he used on his WWI Draft Registration. [See FHL 1983914, cpoy of page in possession of Jane Bonny] Family lore has always held that Fritz worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. The Denver and Rio Grande is not shown as part of the Union Pacific in the short history in my possession.

I have received a copy of Fritz's employment record from the Railroad Retirement Board. The record shows that he was "dismissed" July 7th 1931, right in the middle of the Depression, and "reinstated"  13 July 1936, resuming service on August 3rd as a Brakeman. Fritz never had enough time to make up for the depression and the dismissal; he returned as a Brakeman and reamined a Brakeman until his retirment. Joe says that the dismissal came from being caught at a normal practice of the trains crews. There was a freight run to the south which took the train through a farm where all the trains used to stop so the crews could buy eggs from the farmer. Someone turned them in and the entire crew was fired. During those 5 years Fritz worked as a Custodian at the Continental Bank at the corner of 6th and Main. (It was a job he got through the contact of his brother-in-law Joe Vincent, who was a wealthy, influential man, a restauranteur with gambling and bootlegging on the side. Fritz and Amelia named their last child after Joe Vincent.)

During that time, Fritz also studied railroad laws to return to his job, there apparently being some sort of test required in order to return. He studied every day with one of his friends. He was eventuall reinstated as a brakeman and was promoted to conductor.

During the period as bank custodian, Fritz one night caught a bank robber. Fritz was unarmed dwhen he encountered the robber so he bluffed the man into thinking that one of his keys was actually a gun. He held the man for the authorities.

Fritz and Amelia were living at 1070 South 5th Street, East in Salt Lake City, when he retired at age 55 on 17 September 1946. The reason stated for retirement was disability. The place of resisdence 8 years later when Fritz died was145 South 3rd East.

Frtiz died of a heart attack, myocardial infarction due to arterioscleratic heart disease and myxedema, eight hours after onset. He was bureid in the Salt Lke City Cemetery.