Week 35 - Off to Work

Dad always wore gray trousers and a gray matching shirt for work. Mom would buy them at Sears Roebuck & Co. He was in construction and worked for Earl D Bennett while I was growing up. I learned in later years that he also worked for Tom Matica Construction in Sanford, Michigan before that. Mom always pressed his work clothes. He always started out his day looking neat and starched. To build a house! He always had a tiny notepad and a carpenter pencil in his shirt pocket. I remember looking inside that notebook once and it had pages of numbers. Now, I realize that those numbers helped to build a house.

In the 1940's and early 1950's there were no pre-made trusses. After the basement or crawl space was finished, a builder would rough out the walls and build the trusses one board at a time. It had a very skeletal look at this point. Electrical work, wall building, roofing and insulation and finally the inside walls completed that part of the job. Cupboards and build-ins were constructed by finishing or master carpenters and done from scratch. No pre-made cupboards or components were used.

I have his toolbox. It is made out of wood and measures 34" x 10" x 10" high. It is very heavy and has many of the tools he used every day.  Hand saw, planer, early automatic drill (non-electric), etc. Back then that box would be left on the job site until it was time to move on to the next build. Not stored in the back of a pickup.

Dad carried a black metal lunch box that held a thermos of coffee in the lid. I remember seeing pot roast and mustard sandwiches and cans of sardines included in there. My sister told me that one day Dad brought home the hardboiled egg Mom had sent in his lunch...there was a baby chick in it! We were a one car family in those days, and dad worked 8-4:30 Monday through Friday. If mom happened to need the car for an appointment, which occurred very occasionally, she would have to drive him to the job site and then make sure she was back there at quitting time. 

My dad was William N Porter (Bill) and he was born October 10, 1917, in Flandreau, South Dakota and died December 17, 1970, in Midland, Michigan. His dad, Harry E (Ed) Porter was also a carpenter. They both enjoyed working with their hands and many homes in the Midland area were touched by them. My great uncle Casey Porter (grandpa's brother) was also in the building business. There was a genuine family connection to construction.

Today, those that head off to work often have long commutes and fight long lines of traffic on the highway. You punch a time clock, sit in a cubicle and look forward to quitting time. We are constantly connected to the workplace via phones, texting and social media. Our daughter works from home and yet she is able to be flexible enough to attend Doctor appointments or school functions and 'make up' the time later in the day or week. Others have to 'sign in and out' just as if they are in an actual company building.

My nephew recently shared some pros and cons of working from home. The flexible schedule and personal autonomy ranked first in his comments. No commute which saves time and money for gas and maintenance was another favorite. Being in your own home in a relaxing and stress-free environment helps to promote better job function.

It can be socially isolating for those that thrive on personal contact. It can also be easy to get distracted, and it is very important to set up a comfortable workspace in a quiet low-traffic area.

Some mornings the commute can be tough depending on his four-legged coworkers...you might have to deviate your path, or step over obstacles. But the challenge is worth it!

Barbie