The Way of the Apprentice
It’s been 47 years since I finished my Biochemistry Degree and had the awakening that where I lived didn’t have any employment opportunities in 1975. My Anne was still a year from finishing her English Degree. So, I ended up working for a friend’s Husband who was a plastering contractor. Initially, it was ok but not the best experience as I was the ‘grunt’, who did all the physically demanding work. I reacted to my friend’s dad, who was the contractor and had a rather loud foul mouth. I jumped at the opportunity to work with some younger men that were doing concrete work. (I had already done 6 months of cement finishing before I got married.)
My great opportunity came when I was told to go to the local cement finishing hall where they might send me out to a job. The lady who was the secretary, Dorthy, ultimately became a special friend and sent me out for the day. The arrangement was if the contractor liked me and called me back then I could become a journeyman Cement Finisher. Amazing news was the Henry of E and H Concrete offered me a job. I became a journeyman Cement Finisher through the ongoing training, mentoring of the Curb and Gutter Guys with E and H. Over the next 2 years I was the gringo that learned to fly with a trowel and cut joints like slicing butter.
This was my baptism of fire into the construction industry and then our move to the Bay Area meant that I ended up working with a large Concrete Contractor who did ‘Tilt Ups’ and my journey as a concrete master unfolded. I went from a crew of 10 to a company of 500 that had different crews from flatwork, panels to curb. I became part of the curb crew and eventually persuaded the owner, Mike Hansen, to purchase a curb and gutter machine. I became the Curb guy that oversaw this division of Hansen Concrete for the next 5 years.
I have been so fortunate to have the gift of doing concrete over the years. I was part of a church planting team in the San Francisco Are in the middle 80’s. I was able to support myself as I raised funds to do church planting in the Walnut Creek Area. It was such an incredible experience to serve on the East Valley, greater Phoenix area, Habitat for Humanity Board over eight years as president. It was during this time that I was able to help birth the church coalition that saw many houses being sponsored and built by church volunteers. I was also able to help and oversee the pouring of 20 plus foundations over this time.
It was also during a transition time in my life when I left a church that I had started to do nonprofit work that I was able to provide for my family through doing concrete work. I have been so fortunate to have the ability to do both rather easy driveways and sidewalks around houses to doing actual house foundations that require an expertise that I have learned over the last 40 years.
My experience as someone who is an educator, practitioner, and mentor to hundreds over the last 45 years, is that learning happens the best in a hands-on fashion or as an apprentice. I’m so thankful for the opportunity that Henry with E and H Concrete provided in 1975 that changed my life.