CARPENTERS APPRENTICE

I was born with a claw hammer in my hand! from my earliest years the nomenclature for hand tools, breeds of wood and attendant disciplines in building a house came home from and with  my dad every night.  Being a carpenter was most edifying.


Each night mother would prepare the next day's lunch putting it in dad's black lunch pail. Carpenters burn lots of energy, you know and a Thermos of coffee washed down his food!


Forward to age 16, there was a tacit understanding I would be an apprentice of wood some day.Joe & Irma Hardy hired A.L. Potvin, Builder and Uncle Al, Dad and Bobby began building the Hardy home next to his repair garage. For me it was an adventure.


All along the way I observed and I learned. Joists, carrying beams, rafters and tongue and groove in wood had meaning. Rock lathe was nailed to studs with blue nails. All nails performed our three-penny opera as we swung our claw hammers in unison. Becoming a carpenter's helper was proving to be fun! I was earning $1.00 an hour, bought a Chevrolet for $250 from Hardy Motors in Worcester and delved into "teenage-independence!"


A couple years later, while a student at Worcester Junior I returned to the carpenter scene. Now I learned to carry asphalt shingles.. 3 bundles to the Square up a towering ladder in East Brookfield. Then to Summit Terrace and shingling a new house roof in zero degree temperatures. Man, were the shingles brittle.


Next assignment was wall boarding a newer house in Brookfield. Sanding the ridges of joint compound necessitated wearing a handkerchief-type mask to keep the stuff from our lungs.


Carpentry in my life has been a lifetime of learninmg. Aetna sent me to Pittsburg for a course in Building Loss Evaluation in 1974.I have always Kept an oar in the water.


Houses and their maintenance are demanding, like a car or truck, and the more you can learn about the trade the better off you'll be.