Old Timers

[timber tramp]

  Anyone else ever get to work with the "old timers", I did (fortunately) heard everything from "dont smoke anywhere near the still" to "get yer corks off my carpet". Learned more than I could ever pass on from these old boys, and with Christmas just a couple days away I'm missing most of them (unfortunately). 

[RSteiner]

When I was 16 and in high school I apprenticed at a local manufacturing company in the mchine shop as part of a work/study program.  For 6 months I worked with a 75 year old man who had worked in the shop for more than 50 years.  I learned a lot from that man. 

A friend's grandfather, who was in his 80's at the time I was in high school lived on a farm that was built in 1799.  The farm had only wood stoves for heat.  I would help get in the winter's wood supply.  I remember asking one time how small diameter wood do you want to keep?  The answer he shot right back was "if it is worth cutting, it's worth keeping".  That stuck with me, and I tend to save smaller diameter wood just because of that.

Randy

[pineywoods]

When I was still in grade school, we had a neighbor who ran a cabinet shop. Had a big ole 4 sided moulder and no shavings blower. After a days run, the shavings would pile up 4 ft high all over the shop. He would pay us boys $2 to clean up the shop using shovels and wash tubs. Wasn't much money, but every nickel  was like a gift from heaven. After he passed on, we found out he did have a blower, just never installed it cause it would put us out of a job. I had the good fortune in my early years to work with some of the real ole timers. The education I got was priceless and couldn't have been gotten in any school. One of the regrets I have is that I didn't take the time to tell those gents how much they influenced my life and thank them.

[Tim L]

I worked part time for a highly skilled old timer in a welding/mechanical shop . He tried to teach me but my teen age mind was on "other things" .I absorbed some but I wish I could do it again.

[roger 4400]

Hi. I,m missing my uncle Eddy. This man had 2 woodlots and was working very hard for a small man. With time I bought a woodlot beside his and he showed me how to fell trees ( how to cut to avoid barber chair). This man in his early days worked with axes in camps to cut trees, he walked on logs on rivers ( I do not know this english term  **draver ** in french). And he told me that in those camps there were some boxing competition on sundays and he was one of the best.....exept one day he met a guy that knocked him down to his surprise the guy was a left handed.....My father in law was also a feller... gee we had fun ...a lot to learn if we listen to those old timers....some very good memories.... best wishes to you all OLD or Young timers.Roger

[timberfaller390]

My grandpaw is fortunatly still here and going strong. I learned everything I know from him about hunting fishing trapping farming logging and mechanicing. Another old fellow took me under his wing to teach me to play the fiddle and yet another allowed me to work with him in his shop restoring steam engines.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

When I was 16, old Yancy was 90. I had my first truck, a 62 ford and would do odd jobs around Yancy's place. He rented out horse stalls. He was salty. I can remember him trying to show me the proper way to use a grubbing hoe, he would pick it up and swing it quite feebly a couple of times, hand it to me and say "Repeat that a couple of hundred times".

One day he hobbled over to my truck and peered closley at the ford emblem.

looked at me and said. "Ford eh"
I proudly said, "Yes sir, a 62 "
He puffed up and informed me
"I worked for Henry Ford in 1912, they werent worth a toot then and they arent worth a toot now!"

I also worked at Mcdonalds and he would tell me "I'm tryin to teach you how to be a farm hand and you want to run around flippin burgers!"

I didn't last long at the burger joint.

Jon