James Fay McCuistion

James Fay was the first-born son of Alvin James McCuistion and Mary Eliza Kirk, born in Tooele, Utah, on December 28, 1891.

Known by his middle name, Fay, he came to Montello, Nevada, with his parents and brothers and sister by Alvin James's first wife, Alvin, Jr., Ollie, William and Maribelle. Fay worked and grew up on the ranch, but left to live in nearby Montello, Nevada, when he obtained employment with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company around 1914.

His wife-to-be, Matilde Osterhaus, arrived in Montello around 1912 to teach school, which included some of the younger McCuistions and other children in the area. They married on June 13, 1914, in Montello, and their first child, a daughter, Betty Marie, was born April 8, 1917. A second child, a son, James Fay, Jr., was born November 15, 1920, but died of diphtheria in 1923. A third child, Robert Dean, was born in Carlin, Nevada, on April 26, 1926.

Fay's entire career was spent working for the Southern Pacific Railroad. When he first joined that company, Montello was a bustling railroad service stop, just west of the Great Salt Lake and his jobs afforded opportunity for steady work and advancement, even during the great depression. He was transferred from Montello, where he had become yard master, to Carlin, where he continued in that capacity. In 1938 he was transferred again to Sparks, Nevada, the western hub of the Salt Lake Division, and promoted to train master. His work kept him away from home a great deal and was often extremely stressful, especially when there were derailments and other catastrophes. However, he was still able to maintain close relationships with his children, both of whom had fond memories of time spent with him.

One of his most arduous tasks was helping to direct rescue efforts when the City of San Francisco, a passenger train, was snowed in for five days in the Sierra Nevada’s. Fay's career with the Railroad spanned from the beginning of World War I, World War II and the Korean conflict, and since the railroads were of such vital importance to the war efforts, he did not spend any time in the service. However, he did see his son Robert join the Navy in May of 1943 and serve above an Amphibious Flotilla in the Pacific and return home safely in May, 1946.

Later he was proud to see his daughter Betty join the Department of the Army and be sent to Germany to work for the U.S. in the Tri-Partite Agreement with England and Russia in post-war reconstruction.

Fay enjoyed a long-term membership in the Masonic Lodge and the Shriners.