Jack Driscol, former boss of a Buffalo grain scooping gang, railroad man and elevator worker

Jack Driscol, former boss of a Buffalo grain scooping gang, railroad man and elevator worker

"The scoopers were at the whim of everybody."

A railroad man at age 17 who would soon become the “boss” of a grain scooping “gang” in 1962, Jack Driscol toiled on Buffalo’s waterfront his whole working life. Jack shared memories of scooping grain deep down in the hold of a ship, of working with equipment that stayed the same since his dad's time as a scooper, and about what being the boss of a scooping gang was really like. Driscol was interviewed in early 2020 by Kate Kaye.

NOTE: This story features detailed descriptions of scooping gangs and scooping work and equipment, grain elevator and railroad operations and related work.

2023

2023-08-03

©2023 Kate Kaye

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