Biotech and Joe 1987-88

After the bad experience I had at Cornell’s West campus dorms, my confidence was shaky and I was a little scared of my ability to handle this career path I had chosen for myself. I continued to go to school twice weekly. Brian S and I would carpool and talk all the way there and back. Brian (who is called Giggles due to his infectious and distinctive laugh) would tell me stories about his job and the characters there. One night he told me that another female apprentice was starting the next day. I was angry because I knew I had been off work for much longer than her. However, I bit my tongue and casually told her that I had been offered the job, but turned it down because it was an outside job and horribly cold and miserable. I knew full well it was an inside job at St Joe’s in Elmira. The next morning Brian called me to let me know she never showed up. So I call my BA who told me to start the next day. Not only was the hospital job great, but I was transferred to the new Biotech building being constructed at Cornell where I worked for over a year. In my personal life, things were settling down as well. I married Dan and his daughter and son-in-law moved in with us until they could afford a place of there own. The house was full of people and laughter, but it was also more work for me. The job began to be a relief to go to every day. Plus I was finally partnered up with a welder! This is what fitters are really trained to do. We do the layout, install hangers, prep the pipe ends, and generally make sure the welder keeps his hood down and welding. My partner, Joe Stone, Sr., was the best! He was a good guy who treated me like an apprentice, not like some strange creature that he didn’t know how to handle. He taught me the basics of the job, but he also taught me how to think like a fitter. You need to anticipate problems and run the pipe to avoid them. By the time we were done, I could bring in full lengths of 12” pipe by myself using chainfalls and comealongs while he continued to weld. I would figure out where our pipes would be going and install the proper hangers, usually 15-20’ above the ground. He also taught me to weld. Not only did my foreman allow it, he encouraged Joe to let me practice my welding any chance I could. I would frequently skip lunch to practice. Unfortunately any skill I had acquired is long gone due to lack of practice. I can probably still weld, but it ain’t pretty! The other thing about Joe was that he was functionally illiterate. His father had pulled him out of school in 5th grade to work the fields in their Texas farm. If anything had to be read, Joe would hand it to me and say, “You read it. You’re the apprentice.” And yet every year until he died, I would receive a Christmas card, signed Joe, addressed by his current girlfriend. He was very popular with the ladies and often said that a single rose was the way to a woman’s heart. In my case it was his smile and patience that won me over.