THANKS RICK.. Seeing all these old photos of people I worked with over the years brings back a lot of memories. Theres something unique about working on a dynamite line. A lot of the younger folks in this group are probably unaware of my days on the line. For most of my latter years I worked in support areas..but once a powder worker..youll always identify yourself with being down there where the real work goes on. Its an experience that few have ever had. I can still close my eyes and hear the sounds of a Bohlman machine cycling...the air cylinders exhausting and the vibration as the shells are filled..the sound of the shell feeder..and how you could tell by the sound when it was getting low. The Hall and Gel machines had their unique sounds too. Its been several decades since I was there..but its still an indelible part of my memory and who I am. When I hired on over 40 years ago..the only thing I knew was that the pay was good and the job had the potential for getting blown to smithereens. I had no intentions of sticking around..and no idea that I was entering into a weird sort of family affair. I was young back then. I worked with a lot of WWII vets and quite a few young guys like me. You quickly gain an appreciation for one another. Its always in everyones mind how dependent you are on the other guy to do things the right way..so the powder wont accidentally do what its designed to do..blow hell out of things. Friendships form quickly and last forever.. I mentioned being young when I worked the line. I dont think I could have handled it otherwise. We used to work 2 shifts back in those years. I think back to all those nights when we would run hard all shift..clean up and then hit the shower..allowing the cool water to wash away part of the thumper from the cleanup...and then head up town for a few cool ones before closing. You could usually run into some of the guys from across the creek who worked for that other outfit. Even though they were technically competitors..theres a kinship from the work. Im sure people who make cheese or work for utility companies enjoy their own forms of camaraderie too...but Ill always believe the experience of being part of a powder line...working hard and playing harder together..was something pretty special. I hope it goes on forever but the signs have been pointing in the other direction for a long time now. A lot of those guys from across the creek came over to work with us more than 20 years ago. The line has been down to one shift for quite a while now. I sure do hope theres a sustainable level. For those youngins still down there everyday Keep cobbin Hammer..
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:12:21 +0000
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