Vintage work crew photos

[ranald]

The tallest lad appears looking to his left: may be the boss is giving them the hurry up look.
Bare Feet! Help feed the family.

I was lucky that as a child, I chose to work before & after school; whereas my dad had to miss school (& I didn't really appreciate schooling).

[Jon]

Fixing a sewer break in Seattle, Washington. 1923.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...w_fullsize.jpg

[ranald]

Fixing a sewer break in Seattle, Washington. 1923.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...w_fullsize.jpg

A mate of mine was a sewer guy & said it was a crappy job. To try to equal his comment I told him I had hundreds of people under me in my job and it was in the dead centre of town etc etc etc as told by all grave diggers.

He did also tell me of a pencil willow that had its roots in the sewer main & they had to cut it into 6metre segments to remove the 18 metre+ main root which clogged the full diameter of the pipe.

[VinnieL]

I think that's the crew that's working on a sewer here in town right now. They have had 2 and 3 of the 4 lanes of the street closed for over 3 weeks now.

[Toolmaker51]

I think that's the crew that's working on a sewer here in town right now. They have had 2 and 3 of the 4 lanes of the street closed for over 3 weeks now.

Hard to believe a mere 92 years ago, leaning on idle shovels had yet to be developed. Even the 12 pound sledges are unattended. There are some practiced bystanders.

[Jon]

1927 Seattle city light workers.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...s_fullsize.jpg



More: Seattle Municipal Archives Photograph Collection

[skibo]

Wow that's one scary place to be, I'll bet the transformers don't have a drop of PCBs,in them Yuk Yuk!
'

[bruce.desertrat]

In a previous career, we used Arochlor 1254 (a specific PCB formulation) as an agent to stimulate liver enzymes (p450 variants) in rats for use in cancer research; we ran out of our supply, had to get some more and what had previously cost us $$ cost $$$$$ since it was no longer made.

Some wags told us 'just go get some mud from the river' (this was in NY along the infamously polluted by PCB's Hudson River.)

We had an entirely separate room in the building that I had to wear a bunny suit, respirator and two layers of gloves to weigh it out into the container I was going to use. We took that stuff and all the other crazy chemicals and radioactive materials we worked with pretty seriously, (one of our younger research chemists died of liver cancer soon after I started working there, he was only 34).

I can't imagine what life was like for the workers filling those transformers back then...

[Frank S]

I used to tell my young engineers who would show up for our conferences those ties you are wearing are nothing but an indication that you are planning on being hanged for something you are about to or have already done so you already have the noose around your necks. To me a tie is nothing more than a vanity ornament just like jewelry ie rings necklace's and wrist watches. The only time anyone ever saw me wear one was while I was in the Army and then only when we had to wear the silly dress uniforms for parades or other equally useless events. I'm the same way about a suit I don't own one and refuse to wear one for any reason. I gave both my oral master's and doctoral dissertations wearing jeans and a western shirt and boots my summation was they took me as I was or not made no difference to me.
When ever I see someone wearing a tie in a work place my first thought is they brought their own rope

[Jon]

I gave both my oral master's and doctoral dissertations wearing jeans and a western shirt and boots

So it's actually "Dr. S"!

The number of advanced degrees held by members of this forum is humbling. And it's the good degrees too.