A calendar of the triumphs, defeats and contortions of the human spirit during 1955:

Sentimental Journey. In Lewiston, Me., Engineer Frank E. Hollis. 75, retiring after 58 years of railroading with only one accident, set out on his final run to Rumford, collided with a car in Lewiston's outskirts, cracked into another at Dixfield, pulled wearily into the Rumford terminal four hours late.

FEBRUARY

Dowry. In Memphis, Lloyd T. Riddle, 30, went to court to break a $2,100 contract with the Arthur Murray Dance Studio, argued that he had married one of the studio's instructors and could now learn to dance at home.

MARCH

Music Hath Charms. In Chicago, Church Organist Robert J. Metzler, 50, got a court injunction against Harriet Davis, thirtyish, and her mother, Mrs. Belle Davis, fiftyish, complained that for four years they had upset his organ playing by coming to church on Sundays and ogling him from the front pew.

APRIL

Dividend. In Indianapolis, Criminal Court Judge Saul I. Rabb rejected a request that the jury members in a robbery case be examined by a psychiatrist, commented: "There's no statutory requirement that a juror be sane."

MAY

First Things First. In Tauranga, New Zealand, Postman James Duncan, 41, was fined $56 after postoffice repairmen found under the floor boards 1,200 Christmas letters, which Duncan had hidden there when he realized that he did not have time to deliver the mail and attend a Christmas Eve party as well.

JUNE

Now Hear This. In Los Angeles, Mrs. Loretta Day, 53, filed suit for divorce from former Navy Lieut. Commander Charles B. Day, 63, charged that he logged her comings and goings, made her spend her vacation "swabbing the decks" to pass inspection, would not let her enter his den without permission when red, white and blue pennants were displayed outside the door.

JULY

References. In London, Norman White, 29, was sentenced to eight months in prison after police told in city court how he had taken five jobs in three weeks, got himself fired from each within two hours and collected a week's pay by phoning his new employer: "Get rid of that man White; he's a homicidal maniac."

AUGUST

Mixed Emotions. In Philadelphia, lawyers probating Bartender Victor Ehrmann's will found that he had left $1,000 to Margaret Cole, characterized as "My best friend and cause of my ulcers."

SEPTEMBER

Station Brake. In Marietta, Ohio, Raymond Ray won a divorce from his wife Regina Bell Ray after testimony that she watched TV every night until the last station signed off, forbade him to talk to her except during the commercials.

OCTOBER

Night Flight. In Walkerton, Ont., fined $40 and costs for careless driving, Andrew Frieburger, 72, told the magistrate that he ordinarily drove his car by celestial navigation, but lost his bearings and wound up in a ditch when he mistook a TV tower light for the evening star.

NOVEMBER

A Votre Sante. In Amarillo, Texas, determined to prevent her husband from having his final Sunday bottle of beer, Mrs. Gertrude Camile drove her car through the saloon doorway, tore off 12 ft. of wall in a run that caused $1,000 damage to the bar, stepped out into the wreckage-strewn mess and clubbed him with a two-by-four.

DECEMBER

The Guilty Flee. In Jonesboro, Ark., Mrs. R. J. Barnhoft was arrested for drunkenness when she drove into a service station dragging a driverless pickup truck by the rear bumper of her car, and whispered darkly to the attendant: "I wish you'd check that guy behind me; I think he's drunk."

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