Railroad conductor Peter Domich loved his days working for the Algoma Central Railway and left an impression on a number of passengers including a couple of writers. Here is a poem that was written by a passenger/writer who was impressed by this railroad man. This was written by a writer who canoed the Sand River to Superior on a yearly basis. Peter couldn't remember the author's name but will try to find it when he gets back home to the Sault.

Pete

He was on board the Algoma Central
the day we left Hearst,
But I’m not sure my meeting
him there was my first
because he looked like the man
who some five years before
had taken my ticket
out of Frater’s North door.

As I watched him meticulously
fill out his reports,
account for the passengers,
give out his retorts,
I wonder if he
was really Santa in disguise
with his mustache and broad smile
and a twinkle in his eyes.

He lives in Hawk Junction,
three hours from the Sault
where he starts morning runs
with his Algoma crew,
A man of raw wisdom,
Glad tidings and wit
A spirit of the legacy
That the frontier has writ.

The trip norh, in his absence
Last nearly all day.
We weren’t eager to return
After so short a stay
Our bodies, our minds,
Not accustomed to the hours
Of riding past Sand River
‘midst the cattail and flowers.

Not eager were we,
To be again on the rail,
We’d thought about posting
Ourselves through the mail
But quick we were pleased
When this man they called Pete
Was walking the aisle
And sitting down in a seat.
We rode three hundred miles
Through the wilderness heaven,
And he must have walked
At least three hundred seven
As he chatted and humored
And called riders by name
And made numerous trips
to the baggage car game.

We saw where he’d lived
with his father by the track
we listened to the tales
of his boyhood, but his knack
for telling a joke
and playing tricks with a deck
kept the hours flying by
and the pain from my neck.

At the Sault we departed
With a “ thanks” no goodbye,
Perhaps words unspoken
Leaves more room in the sky
For dreams of returning
To the Algoma Line
And another day with Pete
‘m