they like me...they really like me

Growing up in Chilliwack...............1956

18 years old...I had worked about 3 months on the gas pipeline that was finished in 1957. After starting in April and knocking around at different labor jobs ....I ended up swamping on a side boom.....in English that means a big Caterpillar tractor that has a steel boom with a big belt on the side of it to carry 30" pipe ....the swamper operates the belt hook up with the help of the swamper on the next tractor.....that was for young guys like me who could hop around on that pipe and jump in and out of the ditch....that was on the tie in crew......wow it paid well when the hours were totaled up...we got 10-12 hours a day at 1.30 and 1.95 after 40 hours a week....it took 1/2 a week to get the 40 hours....nobody wanted to loose their jobs...we all "cut it"...It was a good crew.....Welders made an unreal wage....3.50 an hour....but they had to be good...a few bad welds and they would be "run off".....Slackers were not tolerated...putting pipe in the ground was expensive business....a bad weld tied up the crew for hours....or a dangerous operator.....once I seen an extra side boom being moved in for our crew...the guy dropped the boom..."BANG" flat on the ground......fortunately no one was under it......the operators sun glasses tilted towards the tie-in foreman ..... God himself ,dressed in kakis and a 10 gallon hat....(The foremen were 99% "You Alls"......that is southern guys .....imported from the states.......always stand out characters....most pretty good guys).........anyway, our boss "DUB FLOWERS" just eyeballed that boom operator, then turned his thumbs down in the air like a roman emperor and the guy was run off right there and then. Yep...I said Dub Flowers ...that was his name.....Once I was really late...like 4 hours.........I missed the crew bus to the Harrison hills...o man ,I was a wreck,I thought sure I was going to be canned, I got a ride with a mechanic who had to leave the Chilliwack yard and go over to fix something....I had overslept , working long hours and staying up all night.....I had been out on Saturday night...to late, to much fun...and I was paying for it....We finally got to the site and they were getting ready to lower a section in.....God was standing on the ditchfill on the far side of the pipe where everyone could see him...He is the guy that guides all the sideboom cats to lift the pipe and lower it in ....there was 4 tractors hooked up......So I thought here goes ...I walked up to him and the whole crew is looking...all is quiet except the clacking of the cat motors.....I just looked at God expecting the thumb thing....he eyed me for a while then said...wipe the lipstick off your face and get to work......Ohh gawd......I gave off somekind of body language because my operator, Ronny Jebb started to snort his motor...then the rest did...they were all snortin...they like me...they really like me...ha ha...and I went to work....I thought I was through ...a lot of my pals thought I was through....but I went to my tractor.....and threw my lunch in it...there was smiles all around...nobody wanted to loose that job.....lots of times we would have to wait for ditch to be blasted or some breakdown, holding things up.....the bosses did not mind if you goofed off...but you better be there when the time comes....
One day we were putting in the Ruby Creek crossing...there was about 6 cats hooked up to a long section ready to drop it into the dug out creek.......3 on each end....I got there early and proceed to start the tractor up....a small gas motor is started then throw a lever and engage the big deisel motor ...it turns over then catches with a roar.....I never noticed the master clutch was engaged...that means the big cat was in gear...yow...the machine jerked forward...I was dancing on the tracks trying to avoid disaster...somehow I managed to slap the master clutch and everything stopped...o my gawd....I am white as a sheet....Ron came along and calmly jumped into the drivers seat and backed it up the 10 feet to its original position, the belt straightened ...whew.....I sat down and talked to him for a while....wow, that was close...nobody was the wiser....and I still had all my parts....and the site was normal ,all the motors were mumbling and work was about to start. Ron Jebb was a great guy.
Later on I took over from a fellow that had to leave and was then a Welders Helper...that paid 1.50 an hour......Just keep the welder happy and everyone is happy........also hope the welder is a good one....if he got fired...would I get fired too?.......that did not happen...I worked with Paul Reno until the end of the job in November.