Masonry Magazine July 2012 Page. 22
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
plank. Rudy taught me to enjoy the work, give the new guys a little hell, and then treat them like family if they stuck it out. I visited that site recently, and I laughed when I looked up at the 40-foot-high wall we were building that day. At the time, I could have sworn we were building a high-rise.
Dave Gonzales was the foreman on that first project, and I can guarantee he knew exactly what we were building. He understood every aspect of the project and kept complete control in the midst of the apparent chaos that surrounded him. Dave took me under his wing and patiently passed on his methods for layout, material calculations and crew management.
The late Harvey Robinson was the one bricklayer I worked alongside the most. He helped me understand the nuances of the level, trowel and striking iron; and showed me that in the hands of a well-trained bricklayer, they were the tools of an artisan. It was with him that I learned how beautiful a finished section of masonry could be. I still keep my first Smith level in the case he gave me, and store many memories alongside that 4-foot section of cherry wood.
It was the lead instructor at the Arizona Masonry Contractors Association's apprenticeship program, Casey Schreur, who first explained to me that bricklayers carried wooden levels - "that metal junk is for framers and ironworkers" - and showed me how to care for mine. A Vietnam War vet, Casey was as good a storyteller as he was a teacher. My classmates and I regularly enjoyed distracting him from the day's coursework by getting him going on a tangent about the good old days.
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I still keep my first Smith level in the case Harvey Robinson gave me.
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