This
Grave is
located
one and
one half
miles
west of
Elrod
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This
grave is
located
one and
one half
miles west
of what
used to be
the town
of Elrod
along the
Chicago
Northwestern
Railroad
right of
way, in
the Elrod
Township,
Section
six. Each
Memorial
Day, a
wreath of
flowers,
or a
bouquet of
lilacs has
been
placed
there in
living
tribute to
the “Little
Fellow”
In
1889when a
railroad
construction
gang was
working in
the area,
a little
boy whose
parents
were the
cooks for
this crew
would race
from his
home every
time the
train went
by to wave
welcome
and
goodbye to
the
conductor
“Big
Bill”
Chambers.
This went
on every
day for
two years
until one
day when
the Little
Fellow
hadn’t
appeared,
Chambers
stopped
the train
and found
out that
the little
boy had
died and
was buried
along the
tracks.
Shortly
after this
his family
went back
east .
The
railroad
men had
set a
prairie
stone to
mark the
site and
from then
on for
twenty-five
years Bill
Chambers
placed
flowers on
his little
friend’s
grave.
Sometime
during
those
years a
Cross was
set to
replace
the
prairie
stone.
After
Chambers
retired
from
service,
his friend
Conductor
Redmond,
carried on
for him.
After
Chamber’s
death in
1939 the
train crew
and
conductor,
John Coon,
had a
special
memorial
service
there to
honor him
and his
dedication
to the
love he
shared
with a
little
boy, as
requested
by his
sister
Miss Lydia
Chambers.
The
Rotary
club
members
now
continue
the custom
and have
also put
up a
permanent
stone
marker, a
tribute to
the mutual
love of a
man and
boy.
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