I climbed up on the roof at Terrace Hill to talk with the roofers. The foreman saw me up there and made me come down. I did a little volunteer roofing with Habitat for Humanity. It’s hard work even for a day. Thanks for letting us hear his voice.
Thank you, Dr. Bob. I love the conversations you have with the people that too many of us do not see. Thank you for reminding us of the nobility of the work they do.
Anyone who has worked roofing, carpentry, iron, foundry, painting, or in my experience digging ditches, locating underground cables by hand, and climbing poles with spiked boots knows the effects of salt tablets and cold water, forever. It’s turned many young people into older ones fast. It changes your understanding of the world. And, much like service workers, you don’t know what it requires unless you’ve lived through it. Thanks for the reminder, Robert.
The first job I had after rehab in Arizona was shingling a roof, and a few years later doing one all by myself I put a thermometer out to see what the temp was and when I went back to check it the glass had broken. Those roofs didn't have much pitch but my house that I restored in Bussey has a pretty step roof. Lawrence, Kansas has a lot of important history Been through it many times, my family's stoping ground.
I've swung a hammer and poured my share of forms, but never did any roofing. I'm not sure I'd make it a full day in this heat. Kudos to everyone out doing it!
So many of us enjoy a good quality of life on the backs of others. Your story should remind us all of the privileges we have and don’t necessarily deserve.
Thank you so much for acknowledging these incredibly hard working folk that so many of us take for granted. They are amazing in ways we cannot understand or imagine.
My dad was a carpenter roofer too, He passed away a decade ago, this short story made me think of him. He was not in the US but roofers of the world are very much alike!
He was 18 at the end of WWII, he did his military service rebuilding Germany infrastructures for about a couple of years, then came back home in Brittany to rebuilt schools and houses. There was much work to be done. Most of the time, he was gone all week and only home on weekends. Whenever we drove somewhere, he will point at a building and would say "I built that one". I was a kid; I found that very puzzling! His skin was thick and tanned and red. He was stumpy and had the agility of a cat, much needed quality when you are up there.
Thank you for this simple story in tribute to manual labor. I grew up in a working class family - heavy construction on the job and then jobs like roofing on our off time. Then the life of a farmer making square bale hay during the summer.
In the winter when the cold wind blows, o appreciate snuggling in and not having to go to the barn to milk a herd of cows.
When the small derecho hit our neighborhood a few years ago, there was widespread construction and roof work. On our roof, and those of the neighbors, I was able to use my grade school Spanish to converse during their short breaks. (I had to; I wanted to warn them of wasp nests on our house and on neighbor homes.) I learned most of those on the roof were from Central America, just like those working on a nearby street repair. Personally, all my older immigrant family members were blue collar. My parents and those of uncles and aunts insisted we obtain an education, though many of us worked on roofs, digging ditches, etc. to work our way through school, and sometimes after graduations, as well.
For all of us who have spent any time roofing, thanks for the nod to what it takes and why it isn't a lifelong profession...except for Luc. What an iron man.
Wow. Great piece, Bob. I too spent about 12 years in my 20s and 30s in the roofing business. Commercial and industrial. Large flat roofs and sloped metal roofs. Schools, hospitals, office complexes. Yes, easier on the body than sloped shingle work but still excruciating work, especially in the sun and heat. I soon found myself in management, far less time on the roof but more in the hotseat trying to sign that next big contract. By the time I hit my late 30s I had figured out that I needed to get out of that business and find something more to my liking, otherwise I'd be dead by the time I was 60. I still have an immense amount of respect for anyone who works on roofs. These days (or at least before age of full on racism by Stephen Miller), much of the work force is immigrant labor. And they work really hard. Thanks for this story!
I’m one of the lucky ones who never had to do much real manual labor. The older I’ve become,the more I appreciate those who do. I wish them well and hope their lives can be enriched in ways most of us cannot understand.
Thanks Dr. Bob. Did my first shingle job in junior high when several of us helped his dad do their house. Then poured sidewalks and did small shingling jobs with my chemistry teacher summers in high school. Turned out to be my career for most of ten years after HS while dropping in and out of college. A sub-zero condo project next to a lake convinced me to consider going back to school. Given the rotten Iowa economy in 1982, the opportunity costs of going to law school became pretty favorable (and a lot more comfortable). I’d never trade it though. Everyone should learn some craft…just in case.
LOL, as a vegetable farmer, I am always amused when my customers pick up their produce from us on July and August afternoons and proceed to tell me how miserably hot it is outside. I just laugh and say, "Yep, it's pretty rough out there, we're looking forward to a cool down."
I climbed up on the roof at Terrace Hill to talk with the roofers. The foreman saw me up there and made me come down. I did a little volunteer roofing with Habitat for Humanity. It’s hard work even for a day. Thanks for letting us hear his voice.
Glad you had the experience!
Thank you, Dr. Bob. I love the conversations you have with the people that too many of us do not see. Thank you for reminding us of the nobility of the work they do.
Here! Here! Dr. Bob sees the unseen and shines a kind light on them for us all.
All my many pre-career jobs were valuable experiences - hard days but good ones!
Anyone who has worked roofing, carpentry, iron, foundry, painting, or in my experience digging ditches, locating underground cables by hand, and climbing poles with spiked boots knows the effects of salt tablets and cold water, forever. It’s turned many young people into older ones fast. It changes your understanding of the world. And, much like service workers, you don’t know what it requires unless you’ve lived through it. Thanks for the reminder, Robert.
You get it, Peter. You always get it.
The first job I had after rehab in Arizona was shingling a roof, and a few years later doing one all by myself I put a thermometer out to see what the temp was and when I went back to check it the glass had broken. Those roofs didn't have much pitch but my house that I restored in Bussey has a pretty step roof. Lawrence, Kansas has a lot of important history Been through it many times, my family's stoping ground.
I've swung a hammer and poured my share of forms, but never did any roofing. I'm not sure I'd make it a full day in this heat. Kudos to everyone out doing it!
So many of us enjoy a good quality of life on the backs of others. Your story should remind us all of the privileges we have and don’t necessarily deserve.
Thank you so much for acknowledging these incredibly hard working folk that so many of us take for granted. They are amazing in ways we cannot understand or imagine.
My dad was a carpenter roofer too, He passed away a decade ago, this short story made me think of him. He was not in the US but roofers of the world are very much alike!
He was 18 at the end of WWII, he did his military service rebuilding Germany infrastructures for about a couple of years, then came back home in Brittany to rebuilt schools and houses. There was much work to be done. Most of the time, he was gone all week and only home on weekends. Whenever we drove somewhere, he will point at a building and would say "I built that one". I was a kid; I found that very puzzling! His skin was thick and tanned and red. He was stumpy and had the agility of a cat, much needed quality when you are up there.
Thank you.
Thanks, Francoise! I still point out houses we built to my kids and grandkids.
Thank you for this simple story in tribute to manual labor. I grew up in a working class family - heavy construction on the job and then jobs like roofing on our off time. Then the life of a farmer making square bale hay during the summer.
In the winter when the cold wind blows, o appreciate snuggling in and not having to go to the barn to milk a herd of cows.
When the small derecho hit our neighborhood a few years ago, there was widespread construction and roof work. On our roof, and those of the neighbors, I was able to use my grade school Spanish to converse during their short breaks. (I had to; I wanted to warn them of wasp nests on our house and on neighbor homes.) I learned most of those on the roof were from Central America, just like those working on a nearby street repair. Personally, all my older immigrant family members were blue collar. My parents and those of uncles and aunts insisted we obtain an education, though many of us worked on roofs, digging ditches, etc. to work our way through school, and sometimes after graduations, as well.
For all of us who have spent any time roofing, thanks for the nod to what it takes and why it isn't a lifelong profession...except for Luc. What an iron man.
He blew me away. The Kansas City Star picked up the story!
Wow. Great piece, Bob. I too spent about 12 years in my 20s and 30s in the roofing business. Commercial and industrial. Large flat roofs and sloped metal roofs. Schools, hospitals, office complexes. Yes, easier on the body than sloped shingle work but still excruciating work, especially in the sun and heat. I soon found myself in management, far less time on the roof but more in the hotseat trying to sign that next big contract. By the time I hit my late 30s I had figured out that I needed to get out of that business and find something more to my liking, otherwise I'd be dead by the time I was 60. I still have an immense amount of respect for anyone who works on roofs. These days (or at least before age of full on racism by Stephen Miller), much of the work force is immigrant labor. And they work really hard. Thanks for this story!
I’m one of the lucky ones who never had to do much real manual labor. The older I’ve become,the more I appreciate those who do. I wish them well and hope their lives can be enriched in ways most of us cannot understand.
I remember you and I roofing a three story in Mason city and your told us to stop. Great man you’re Dad
Thanks, Ralph. Those were the good old days! I think it had an 8 or 10 pitch roof too.
Thanks Dr. Bob. Did my first shingle job in junior high when several of us helped his dad do their house. Then poured sidewalks and did small shingling jobs with my chemistry teacher summers in high school. Turned out to be my career for most of ten years after HS while dropping in and out of college. A sub-zero condo project next to a lake convinced me to consider going back to school. Given the rotten Iowa economy in 1982, the opportunity costs of going to law school became pretty favorable (and a lot more comfortable). I’d never trade it though. Everyone should learn some craft…just in case.
Agreed!
LOL, as a vegetable farmer, I am always amused when my customers pick up their produce from us on July and August afternoons and proceed to tell me how miserably hot it is outside. I just laugh and say, "Yep, it's pretty rough out there, we're looking forward to a cool down."