USA > Nebraska > Hall County > History of Hall County, Nebraska > Part 48
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OMAHA, July 16, 1866.
-(Joseph Nichols' History Union Pacific Railway.)
SAM'L B. REED, General Superintendent.
By September, 1867, the great highway had 1868, it was announced through the Herald become progressive enough to announce that that passenger fare had been reduced from 10 cents to 71% cents a mile. By this change the fare to Cheyenne, which had been $51.50, became $38.50. "on and ofter next Sunday" all trains, pas- senger and frieght, would run on Sundays the same as week days. On the 20th of May,
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
Among the earliest local officials of the Union Pacific R. R. after its formal inaugu- ration were: Webster Snyder, general super- intendent, soon followed by Samuel B. Reed, and later by C. G. Hammond; H. M. Hoxie, assistant superintendent ; J. H. Congdon, gen- eral manager ; S. H. H. Clark, general freight agent: Thomas L. Kimball, general passenger and ticket agent; T. E. Sickles, chief engi- neer; and William Huff, master mechanic. The latter was succeeded by Robert McCon- nell, April 1, 1867.
LOCAL MANAGEMENT OF UNION PACIFIC
Since the first train came into Grand Island on July 8, 1866, and service was established on a regular basis, the number of employees living and working here has steadily increased, until the "railroad" population of Grand Is- land, and the proportionate number of busi- ness people required to supply its needs, would make a good sized little town if entirely seg- regated from Grand Island's other elements of population.
It has been thought that a review of those in charge of the various phases of the rail- road's management of affairs at Grand Is- land and on this part of the Omaha division of the Nebraska district would bring to the mind of those who have lived here for many years many familiar names. The liberal sprinkling of some of these names through the various chapters in this work treating up- on the churches, lodges, schools, city govern- ment, and commercial progress of the com- munity will indicate that many of these "Union Pacific" officials and employes have been broadminded, public spirited men, who when their duties to the railroad and their families were discharged, still acknowledged some duty to their community.
SUPERINTENDENTS
The system of dividing the responsibilities of the administration of affairs in the operat- ing department of the railroad generally falls in two classes : The Burlington (C. B. & Q.) uses the "District and Division", system. By that is meant, at the head of the operating
department of the railroad stands a vice- president in charge of operation and the gen- eral manager, whose control extends, of course, over more than the operating depart- ment. In each district, generally comprising about the amount of railroad that system has in a particular state, is the general superin- tendent. The territory in his district is di- vided into two to five divisions, over which a division superintendent exercises authority. The Union Pacific used the "Division and District" system, whereby the next authority under the general manager, who exercises authority over the entire system, stands the superintendent of the "division." He has un- der him at various points "trainmasters" who exercise control over a given divisional ter- ritory.
The trainmaster, on most railroads, exer- cises authority over only the operation and government of train crews; upon the Union Pacific he exercises that duty, but is practically an assistant superintendent when the occasion demands. Each superintendent of the dis- trict has under him at each division point a master mechanic in charge of engine crews and shops, a district foreman in direct charge of shops and mechanical departments.
The headquarters of the superintendent of the Nebraska Division are at Omaha. Those men who have served in the capacity of super- intendent of the Nebraska division, and there- by had control of railroad operations in and out of Grand Island, have been E. Dickinson, W. A. Duell, R. W. Baxter, J. M. Barr, R. Blickensderfer, P. J. Nichols, R. W. Baxter, Charles Ware, W. R. Cahill, W. M. Jeffers, G. O. Brophy, J. P. Carey.
Mr. Ware afterwards served as general manager of the system; Mr. Jeffers is the present general manager, and under the rail- road administration of the federal govern- ment is federal director for the Union Pacific system over the control and operation of the road. Mr. Brophy is now superintendent at Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Carey, the pres- ent superintendent, visits Grand Island fre- quently, and through the kindness of his office, the roster of the various officials, employees
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
and ex-employees, appearing in this part of this chapter was mainly compiled and fur- nished.
The trainmasters who have had charge at Grand Island have been W. H. Ferris, C. C. Cornell, Austin Taylor, F. D. Schermerhorn, J. H. Stephens, G. F. Harless, N. A. Wil- liams, J. V. Anderson, and C. A. Weir the present trainmaster.
MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT
The Union Pacific built the largest and best shops, outside of the main shops at Omaha, which operates on its line. The shops and yards used here cover probably between fifty and a hundred acres.
UNION PACIFIC SHOPS
The main shop buildings, three in number, are magnificient structures of stone, built in 1880 and 1881 at a cost of something like $350,000. The construction of locomotives is carried on in the shops at Omaha, but every sort of repair and replacement work needed is done at the Grand Island shops. Many years ago the company built a round house here that could accommodate about forty-five engines. In recent years a much larger round house has been constructed. Besides the shops, numerous other buildings are re- quired for mechanical purposes; a big store- house for storage and distribution of all sup- plies for offices, cars and engines ; oil houses ; car shops, housed in separate building from the engine repair shops. The whole mechan- ical department embraces a very substantial group of buildings at the east end of the city.
The master mechanics in charge of the Ne- braska division since the completion of Grand Island shops have been J. P. Hovey, J. H.
Manning, M. K. Barnum, George Thompson, J. A. Turtle G. H. Likert, W. T. Beery, Wm. Irvine.
The district foremen in direct and local charge at Grand Island, have been: B. C. Howard, M. H. Wilkins, W. E. White, H. J. Osborne, F. L. Regan, R. M. Cole, F. W. Shultz, R. McCabe, P. J. Norton, the present district foreman.
Blake C. Howard was very active in many affairs of the community. M. H. Wilkins and F. L. Regan have both retired from ac- tive railroad service and identified themselves with the business interests of the town.
The car foremen in charge at Grand Is-
UNION PACIFIC SHOPS
land have been : J. Reneff, H. R. Makely, and D. E. Ryder.
The blacksmith foremen have been: John H. Houck and Wm. Newlands.
The boilermaker foremen have been : Gavin H. Geddes, now in business, connected with Geddes & Co .; John Davenport, J. W. Thom- as, William Finder, and William Fleisher.
TRAIN AND ENGINEMEN
People who have never been connected with railroad work perhaps do not stop to think of the responsibility resting upon those men who work, either at day or at night, hour after hour, handling the engine that pulls the train they are riding upon, in whose hands the lives of all the passengers upon the train depend in a great measure, or recognize the fact that the conductor who goes up and down the aisle of their car has more to do than to simply punch tickets. To those men who Digitized by Google
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
have performed these classes of service for the people of Grand Island, and for the pas- sengers who come in or leave this town con- stantly, it has been felt to be giving them their just dues to make mention of those who have served in such capacity for a period of twenty years. Space forbids attempting anything like a complete roster of the men who have served in these various capacities with the Union Pacific and resided at Grand Island, but lists are given herewith, first, conductors, who have had twenty years or more service, and are still in the service in 1919: A. Bailey, Wil- liam Leahy, B. A. Johnson, I. Mallory, E. E. Forsythe, M. J. Roche, W. R. Harding, E. A. Hamilton, J. H. Smith, W. R. Sleeper, N. J. Buzza, R. L. Massey, J. H. Breedlove, R. G. C. Jenkins, Fred Peterson J. E. Murphy, H. W. Jones, P. E. Fent, Wm. Burke, C. E. Shaffer, Thos. Cahill, P. E. Dunbar, W. F. Fox, A. Taylor, J. B. Forester, T. J. Horan, G. W. Goodrich, S. A. Clapper, G. D. Sage, Wm. Wagner, F. W. Mappes, Sr., Geo. Can- dish, R. G. McCaslin, J. F. Linnaberry, G. J. Hull, L. C. Hansen, J. B. Murray, G. J. Hall, J. W. Amick, M. C. Mitchell, W. E. Cissna, J. T. Mulick, H. Compton, C. E. McIntosh, E. B. Crocker, J. H. Davis, E. T. Mulick, J. W. Amick, Grant Hadlock, W. H. Brooks, C. F. Hull, Robert Dolen, J. Loretz, E. Inman, E. D. Warren, J. A. Quinn, M. J. Shoemaker, G. J. Hall, B. F. Masters, I. C. VanHousen.
Conductors who served on the road twenty years or more and have left the service on account of being pensioned, deceased, re- signed, etc .: W. W. Keen, R. T. Powers, H. Hopkins, W. H. Madden, T. H. Campbell, J. B. Kirsch, C. B. Spiece, H. E. Musselman, John Ford, T. A. Taylor, F. L. Pblasterer, H. H. Blackburn, J. E. Costello, N. F. Akey- son, W. S. Wilcox, C. J. Hetzler, M. C. Wal- lace, G. O. Brophy, J. W. Buswell, H. P. Graham, A. J. Smith, R. P. Lumpkins, G. C. Miller, Thos. Ryan, J. P. Kiger, Wm. R. Robertson, F. F. Foster, John Ratcliff.
It has already been indicated that Mr. Bro- phy is now superintendent of the Kansas divi- sion at Kansas City, and J. W. Buswell is still
in service, as gateman, at Union Station, Omaha.
Engineers now in service and who have had twenty years or more of service: Geo. Losh- baugh, Thos. Newman, H. A. Riley, Wm. H. Bay, Al Branson, Elmer E. Fair, J. D. Taylor, A. A. Campbell, John Glynn, J. A. Campbell, Geo. McQuade, Ira N. Wright, W. P. Shep- ard, E. P. Rogers, E. S. Pardo, J. H. Lannin, Frank Smith, E. P. Baker, M. L. Kiley, J. W. Coolidge, Cris S. Durr, C. M. Andrews, Wen- cil Franta, G. H. Miller, John Farley, C. B. Hodgson, Frank Truman, J. I. Smith, J. H. Fonda, A O'Bryan, Claude V. Callier, Joseph Sorenson, John Minogue, Adam Johnson J. Morris, F. O. Falk, George Rollins, A. R. Meiklejohn, J. M. Bryant, F. G. Hollenbeck, Chas. M. Highsmith, Johannes Nilsson, Chas. W. Milesen, Frank Prawl, Thos. Griffin, James May, Barclay Jones, Chas, G, Forster, A. P. Wideman, M. H. Gentleman, Michael J. Norris, James Kelley, Corwin F. Jones, W. S. Beach, J. E. Thomas, S. P. Cassell, Geo. A. Austin, M. H. Douglas, W. S. Dolson, C. W. Haskins, W. W. White, T. Burney, . S. Schweiger, Frank Bentzer, R. M. Dean, F. H. Barnell, Geo. E. Stearns, H. Clay Hulper, Claude R. Fitch, P. A. Norton, M. Hayes, J. F. Roddy, J. D. Cox, T. G. Thompson, H. N. Getty, L. J. Dean.
Engineers who served the road twenty years or more, and left the service account being pensioned, deceased, resigned, etc .: Wm. Hollenbeck, Wm. Clawson, J. P. O'Brien, L. W. Rollins, W. E. Johnson, Con Kirk, E. R. Mathis, Jas. McQuade, Matt Parr, Z. T. Sprigg, M. H. Burnham, John P. Dolan, C. J. Fulmer, N. Weeks, S. Ayer, John Dolan, John Unpherson, M. L. VanArsdale, G. G. Boskins, H. C. Blinckensderfer, C. E. Ell, R. Gentle- man, C. S. Hambright, Joseph Hay, S. Hindman, L. O. Farrington, S Hartman, G. E. Lewis, W. C. Reynolds, A. M. Scharman, Wm. Whitlock, J. Weinberger, P. Cunning- ham, P. Getzcham, H. G. Andrews, A. L. Johnson S. W. Johnson, Theo. Livingston, G. W. Meyer, Con Morris, C. F. Rollins, C. E. Speed, Wm. Anyan, John Byers, M.
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
U.P. DEPOT GRAND ISLAND, NEB
UNION PACIFIC DEPOT, GRAND ISLAND
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
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Decker, Joseph Fulmer, W. A. Van Noy, A. F. Wilkins, F. Weinbaugh, Wm. Dolan, John Bonner, H. W. Bird, F. J Doran, F. Goodsell, C. S. Hambright, G. W. Meyer, D. H. Hines, W. S. Fikes, F. Frederickson, O. S. Hostetter, D. O'Brien, J. J. Sullivan, Gearge Vroman, F. D. Winn, P. Nelson.
STATION AGENTS
One of the most unusual features of rail- road history in Hall County has been the remarkably long terms of service of the few station agents who have been in charge of
last year or so, all freight business of the three railroads here has been consolidated in one office and Mr. Loucks has become agent for the railroad administration in that capa- city. D. J. Traill has been ticket and passenger depot agent for the Union Pacific.
W. B. Thompson was agent for the Bur- lington road the first four or five years of its operation through Grand Island, and his suc- cessor, Thomas Connor, served in that capac- ity for practically twenty years, and during the last year or so of the federal administration of the railroads has confined his duties to
NEW C. B. & Q. DEPOT
railroad affairs at Grand Island. John D. Moore, agent in the late 'eighties for the Union Pacific afterwards figured in the bank- ing, financial and business circles of the city materially. His successor, H. L. McMeans, served for practically ten years. The two sons of Mr. McMeans have been very suc- cessful in business matters, A. L. McMeans, the only graduate of Grand Island high school to amass a fortune of several millions of dollars, is one of the three or four stock- holders of the Dodge Brothers Motors Com- pany, the only one outside of the Dodge family circle. Emmor McMeans is connected with Twin Valley Motor Co. of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. W. H. Loucks has served as agent for the past twenty years. During the federal administration of railroads, within the
those of ticket and depot agent for the Bur- lington.
Grand Island not having had to undergo the very frequent changes of station agent which most towns experience, has had the benefit of unusually close and congenial rela- tions with her local railroad managements.
The splendid new passenger station of the Union Pacific was opened at Grand Island, in May, 1918. This depot is the last word in every respect, along depot conveniences.
ST. JOSEPH AND GRAND ISLAND RAILROAD
The St. Joseph & Grand Island Railroad Company was incorporated October 25, 1873, with F. A. Wiebe, E. W. Arnold, W. A. Platt, R. C. Jordon, H. N. Chapman, James Michelson, W. R. McAllister, and William e
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
Hagge, members. On December 4, 1873, the question of issuing bonds to aid this company was carried by a majority of 212 in Grand Island. Work was begun by Contractor An- drew Sheridan, May 9, 1874. On May 2, 1874, ground was broken, the ceremony being wit- nessed by a large concourse of people. H. N. Chapman was marshal with W. A. Deuel and W. H. Platt, assistant marshals. A grand ball was given at Liederkranz Hall. H. P. Handy was credited with being the prime mover in obtaining this road. After it was built through to St. Joseph, this 'road served a great purpose to Grand Island in giving it another outlet and in furnishing a second line of road for a decade until the arrival of the Burlington road.
In recent years the management of the St. Joseph and Grand Island has been practically the same as the Union Pacific. -
UNION PACIFIC BRANCHES
The great factor in giving Grand Island di- rect connection and natural advantages in gaining the trade of the Loup Valley to the north has been the network of Union Pacific branches radiating out of Grand Island and St. Paul twenty-two miles north. The branch from Grand Island to St. Paul, 22.23 miles, was completed and placed in operation in 1880; two years later the line was extended from St. Paul to North Loup, 26.63 miles, and also in 1882 the Scotia to Scotia Junction spur, 1.37 miles was added. In 1886 the line was extended to Ord, 11.91 miles north of North Loup, where the terminus still remains in 1919. But the Burlington branch through Ord to Burwell opens a territory further north which can conveniently reach Grand Island. The branch from St. Paul to Loup City was built in 1885 and 1886; and from Boelus Nantasket in 1887 and on to Pleasaton in 1890.
THE BURLINGTON
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road Company was chartered by a special act of the Illinois legislature, dated February 12, 1849, under the name of the Aurora Branch Railroad Company. The incorporators were
citizens of Aurora, Illinois, and vicinity. This company built from Aurora to a connection with the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad (now Chicago & Northwestern) at Turner Junction, about twelve miles. The track was laid with wooden rails faced with strap iron and was opened for business September 2, 1850. In 1852 the name was changed to the Chicago & Aurora Railroad Company. About this time capital from Michigan was interested in furthering and saving the enterprise. Feb- ruary 14, 1855, the name of the Chicago & Aurora Railroad Company was changed to Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Com- pany. The road was extended through Illinois in the next few years. The bridge over the Mississippi at Burlington, Iowa, was opened for traffic on August 13, 1863. On January 1, 1873, the C. B. & Q. took possession of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad and branches, which on that date operated the fol- lowing mileage: Burlington, Iowa, to the east bank of the Missouri River, opposite Platts- mouth, Nebraska, opened January 1, 1870, 280 miles, and numerous branches in Iowa. The Burlington & Missouri River Company was incorporated in Iowa, January 15, 1852, at first by citizens of Burlington and vicinity. The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company in Nebraska, which is the line that interests Grand Island and Hall County, was incorporated May 12, 1860, and the construc- tion of the line from Plattsmouth to Kearney was begun in July of that year; it was com- pleted to Kearney Junction, Nebraska, Sep- tember 18, 1872. This company was consoli- dated with the C. B. & Q. R. R. Co. on July 26, 1880, with 836 miles of railroad at that time. Some of its various lines concerning this part of Nebraska were opened, York to Aurora, Nevember 3, 1879, 22 miles ; Aurora to Central City, April 4, 1880, 20 miles.
In 1884 extension was carried on the Bur- lington lines which opened the Aurora to Grand Island sector of the line, 18 miles, inte Grand Island on June 8. This meant con- siderable to Grand Island because it gave a third railroad, tiz Since the St. Joseph and
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
Grand Island has become a subsidiary to the Union Pacific, the presence of the Burling- ton system serves to give Grand Island the service of a second continental system. In 1886 among other branches and extensions completed was the extension of the line from Grand Island to Anselmo, Nebraska, opened September 13, 101 miles, and Aurora to Hast- ings, opened September 13, 28 miles.
In 1887 the lines were extended from Anselmo to Whitman, Nebraska, opened May 30, 99 miles. This gave Grand Island a rail outlet to two hundred miles northwestward, and paved the way for the development of that territory as Grand Island trade territory. That same year the Central City to Greeley branch, 44 miles, and Greeley to Burwell, 41 miles, were opened.
In 1888 the west line extended to Alliance, Nebraska, 69 miles farther, and the Ericson- Greeley branch, 19 miles, was opened. In 1889 the west line went from Alliance to Cambria, Wyoming and by 1894 reached Billings, Mon- tana, where it made a connection to the coast with the Northen Pacific and Great Northern lines.
While the Burlington has never been such a factor in the life of this community as the Union Pacific, its presence in giving a through line from Seattle-Billings, to Lincoln, Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago, has been a won- derful competitive factor and has assisted ma- terially in the upbuilding of Grand Island as a commercial and industrial center. Notwith_ standing the Burlington being the main road at Hastings the receipts of its Grand Island station have in recent years regularly equalled or rivalled the Hastings station.
The Burlington has in recent years built a splendid brick depot, and converted its old passenger station into a freight house. Ex-
cept for the station force, not very many Burlington employes are resident at Grand Island.
The new Burlington passenger bridge be- tween Phillips and Grand Island, finished in 1918, is a wonderful improvement to this line. Its presence in Hall County gives it added local interest. Construction forces worked on this bridge for about eighteen months, beginn- ing in March, 1917, and finishing the work in October, 1918, after which it took the con- tractors another three months to complete the approaches, and the bridge was opened for service in January, 1919.
The new bridge is 1,000 feet long, 120 feet shorter than the old one, which can still be seen much lower and on the left hand side of the train. The new bridge is practically fire proof, the piers being made of 45-feet long Bignell piling sunk under the river on which concrete caps rest. Three sixty-feet long steel girders are placed at each end, mak- ing a total opening under the steel girders of 360 feet. The remainder of the bridge is made of twenty-feet long concrete slabs rest- ing on the piers. The new bridge is twelve feet above the old one and eliminates both grades and curves at this place. It is also be- lieved to be an ice proof structure. By its use all "doubling" of freight trains will be avoided at what was once known as the Phillips hill, but which is now an easy grade.
An additional feature of interest in this bridge is that it is the first large job in which the new Bignell piling was successfully dem- onstrated. This process was patented by Ed. Bignell, who has been the genial division superintendent in charge of the line prac- tically all of the time since it opened. His sucessor is F. R. Mullen, formerly train dis- patcher in Lincoln.
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CHAPTER XVIII
THE CHURCHES OF HALL COUNTY
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - WOOD RIVER - GRAND ISLAND - OTHER PARISHES - GRAND ISI,AND DIOCESE - PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH - ST. STEPHEN'S PARISH, GRAND ISLAND - HISTORICAL LETTERS BY R. C. JORDON AND DR. H. D. BOYDEN - METHODIST CHURCHES - FIRST, GRAND ISLAND - TRINITY, GRAND ISLAND - DONIPHAN - OTHERS - LUTHERAN CHURCHES - EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN TRINITY - GERMAN ST. PAUL'S EVANGELICAL LUTH- ERAN, GRAND ISLAND - ST. PAUL'S ENGLISH, GRAND ISLAND - FIFTH STREET EVANGELI- CAL - EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ZION'S (WORMS CHURCH) - FREE EVANGELICAL LUTH- ERAN - PILGRIM CONGREGATIONAL, GRAND ISLAND - BAPTIST CHURCHES - FIRST, GRAND ISLAND - IMMANUEL, GRAND ISLAND - OTHERS - PRESBYTERIAN, GRAND ISLAND WOOD RIVER - CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, GRAND ISLAND - UNITED BRETH- REN SOCIETY - CHRISTIAN CHURCH - OTHER CHURCHES IN HALL COUNTY
Hall County has been creditably endowed with religious institutions. Grand Island has been represented by every prominent and widespread denomination. Throughout the other towns and the county in general suffic- ient churches have been organized and have flourished to enable the population of the county to carry on their religious worship with reasonable convenience.
It is felt that to treat each denomination by itself will insure fairer and more compre- hensive treatment than to divide this im- portant phase of human and spiritual work by geographical divisions.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The church history of Hall County prac- tically begins with the establishment of pub- lic worship in 1861 by Catholics, near Wood River. Patrick Moore and his brother Richard, who located two miles west of the present city of Wood River, were the first Catholic settlers in the county. They came to Hall County from Iowa City in 1859. The first Catholic priest to visit the county was Father Furman, a Frenchman, who came in the fall of 1861. He held his first
mass here in a log house, the residence of Anthony Moore, about three miles west of the present Wood River. The regular station for the priest at that time was Columbus, Platte County, Nebraska.
Services were held about once in three months by priests located at that point un- til 1877. The priests to follow Father Fur- man, until 1877, were Fathers Smith, Kelly, Erlach, and Ryan.
Shortly after the Moores, the Windolph families, also Catholics, located in the Grand Island community, and these like the Cath- olics at Wood River were given an occasional opportunity to attend their religious duties by visiting priests from Omaha or Columbus.
But the Grand Island community grew faster, and the first organization effected was that at Grand Island in 1864, with mass said by Father Ryan of Columbus once a month. In 1868 the members of this parish raised money to erect a building for their worship.
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