Pre-Owned Ten Turtles to Tucumcari: A Personal History of the Railway Express Agency (Hardcover) 0826330495 9780826330499

From its founding in 1929, Railway Express Agency dominated the transportation industry until the 1960s. This history of REA coincides with the career of Klink Garrett, who began as a temporary employee in Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1934 and retired in 1973 as a senior executive and member of REAAAA1/2s board of directors. From its founding in 1929, Railway Express Agency dominated the transportation industry until the 1960s. In return for a monopoly on passenger train service, the express company was obligated to accept any and all shipments within the United States. REA handled carloads of cattle, race horses, and fruits and vegetables. Radioactive material was moved on regular schedules for the Atomic Energy Commission. When companies or individuals wanted to ship something (even ten turtles) to any place in the world (even Tucumcari, New Mexico), they called REA. The history of REA coincides with the career of Klink Garrett, who began as a temporary employee in Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1934 and stayed with REA until 1973, by which time he was a senior executive and member of the company's board of directors. Garrett spent the first half of his tenure working in small offices, usually one-man operations, in the West. In 1956 he was promoted to a national sales position with offices in both New York City and Washington DC. His main job was to co-ordinate the transportation needs of the Defense Department and the emerging nuclear industry via REA. His entrepreneurial ethic -- a combination of ex