As a sub-teen or teenager, I knew both Elwin French and Albin Johnson. Elwin's grandson was my good friend, and Albin (incorrectly called Albion by my relatives and others) had a farm across the street from my grandmother. Unfortunately, I was more interested at the time in the B&A Greenville Branch and the CP Moosehead Sub (both of which then existed) than in the Monson. Both Elwin's son Harold and Albin's son Frank have died within the last 10 years, so I believe that their fathers probably were gone by the 1970's.
Elwin's daughter-in-law, Althea French, was the president of the Monson Historical Society for many years and provided much information to two-foot fans, including Bob Hungerford, who recently has given much of his collection to the WW&F. Unfortunately, Althea is now incapacitated by dementia. However, Estella Bennett, current president of the Monson Historical Society (and Roger Whitney's cousin by marriage), has conducted numerous interviews of elderly Monson residents that presumably include Monson RR recollections.
