Diaries of Escanaba rail worker published

CANTON, Ga. — The diaries of a former Chicago Northwestern Railway worker who lived in Escanaba in the late 1800s have been complied into a new book, available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon, and published by Yawns Publishing of Canton, Georgia.

George Mortimer West started his career in Brandon, Wisconsin with the Milwaukee and Horicon RR in 1860. He took a job with the Chicago and Northwestern Railway at Escanaba in 1873 and began keeping a diary. He lived at 321 Harrison, just a couple of blocks from the rail yard and port.

“George Mortimer West, His Path in History” includes West’s writings describing his life in Wisconsin and Michigan, historic events he witnessed there, and the work of his life that gave him the local designation “Founding Father of Panama City,” and a State of Florida title of “Great Floridian.”