Father Ryan and the Union Pacific.


Around 1867, while building the Transcontinental Railroad ...


"The UP officials tried to hold things down,

"however they could.

"Occasionally, they would send out a Columbus priest named Father Ryan..."



From page 219 of the Stephen E. Ambrose book Nothing Like It In The World: The Men Who Built The Transcontinental Railroad 1863 - 1869.

"The UP officials tried to hold things down, however they could.

"Occasionally they would send out a Columbus priest named Father Ryan, who would put up a tent and ties for the congregation to sit on.

"According to the reporter who witnessed the scene, they listened devoutly to the sermon and shared in Communion, and sang a hymn or two.

"Then Father Ryan talked to them about their profanity, their drunkenness, and their general waste of money. He urged them to be true to their faith, and to their employers, and to take a pride in their work on the great railroad..."

Way to go, Padre! :)