In the spotlight: Richard W. Sprague

Readers with a connection or interest in the island community of Islesboro are likely to be in for a treat in a few years.

Richard W. Sprague, an Islesboro native and longtime official at Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Co., is retiring. One of his goals is to write an anthology of the island’s history, its people and its customs.

Sprague grew up on Islesboro during the Depression. He says that it was a very isolated community and still had a 19th century character.

“I would like to leave a record,” Sprague said, “so that people won’t forget who these people were and what they did.”

If Sprague’s past record is any indicator, his effort to write the book will be a success. His training and experience as a journalist should help. Sprague graduated from the University of Maine in 1950 with a degree in journalism. After a stint as a copy editor with the Bangor Commercial, he joined Bangor and Aroostook in 1952.

The railroad hired Sprague to work on “Maine Line,” a company magazine. His efforts with the magazine garnered several awards. He still works on the publication, but during his 38-year tenure at B&A, his responsibilities have multiplied.

With a current title of senior vice president, Sprague is responsible for personal injury claims, freight claims, security, labor relations, employee safety, public relations and human resources.

During his long career with the railroad, Sprague has seen a lot of changes. The biggest change, he says, has been investment in new capital that has made the industry less labor-intensive. During Sprague’s tenure at B&A, employment has declined from 1,100 to 400.

“We’re now using sophisticated machinery to do what used to be done with men’s backs,” Sprague said.

Railroads also became deregulated during Sprague’s tenure. That change, which took place about 10 years ago, necessitated changes in the way the railroad was managed, Sprague said.

“When we were regulated, we were more professional railroaders than businessmen,” he said. “But we had to become businessmen to stay competitive in this environment.”

During recent years, railroads and their unionized employees often have had strained relationships. Sprague says that the relationship between the two groups at B&A has been less than perfect.

“We haven’t had a strike,” he said. “But we’re still working under the 1984 contract. We haven’t been a qualified success in terms of working out an agreement.”

According to Sprague, the company would like to have more latitude in making work assignments.

“We would like to decide the number of workers to use to do certain jobs and not have it spelled out in contracts,” Sprague said. He said this applied to trainmen and engineers.

His role as a negotiator in the labor talks required “great patience,” Sprague said. “But having said that, I have to say that we have a superb workforce.”

Sprague is optimistic about the future of railroads.

“We’re one of the few countries with private ownership of railroads,” Sprague said. “Every other industrialized nation in the world has made big investments in their railroads.”

The B&A executive thinks that certain public policies could help preserve railroads. “In Germany,” he said, “certain commodities aren’t allowed to be moved on autobahns. In the United States, we’re wearing out highways that shouldn’t be wearing out.

“This country deserves some sober, objective thoughts on how to allocate resources and spend dollars (as they relate to transportation),” Sprague said.

Some commodities, like coal, should be moved on railroads, he said.

In the long term, Sprague said that diminishing supplies of energy, air pollution and over-crowding on highways would lead to increased use of railroads.

Government should have a role in transportation planning, Sprague said. He said that enabling legislation and incentives could expand the role of railroads.

“Maybe this argues against pure private ownership,” Sprague said. “But, public or private, we don’t have a choice but to maintain railroad lines.”

When he hasn’t been engaged in his railroad duties, Sprague has been very active in the local community. Among others, he has been involved with the Public Relations Society of America, the Bangor Halfway House, the United Way of Penobscot Valley, the University of Maine Alumni Council, the Bangor Symphony, Eastern Maine Medical Center and the Eastern Area Agency on Aging.

Sprague plans to stay active in the community after his retirement from the railroad.

There won’t be any new Florida address for this retiree. “I’ll stay in Bangor,” he said. “I can’t imagine leaving a network like this. Things happen here that make it an exciting place to live.”

In addition to working on his study of Islesboro, Sprague intends to pursue his hobby of gardening. He expects to keep busy. “I can’t imagine life without work,” Sprague said. But in his retirement, he plans to be “very selective.”