A good old fellow that worked for me for several years in the 70s and 80s went by Friday. His name was Troy Hargraves. Lot of people told me he got the name Friday, because that was his favorite day. Friday was a steady hand. He knew the road and excavation business. He was an estimator mostly, but worked in several positions within the company during his time with us.

He was very gruff sounding, but was the kindest and gentlest soul you ever would meet. All the guys out on the jobs loved to see Friday coming. He’d bring coffee and doughnuts or soda pops for everyone. He wasn’t much for working on the weekends, that was understood from the beginning. All the younger guys could handle the long hours. He had spent his time doing that!

So he and Anna May would load up on the weekends and head out for who knows where. When it was that time of the year he head out to the Rio Grand Valley and bring back sacks of citrus fruit for everyone. Or he’d head out and bring a bunch of watermelons from Luling. You never knew what he’d come back with, but you’d know it was going to be something. He was a guy that liked to share.

If any of us asked him “what do you know”? the answer was always the same. “I takes a big hog to weigh a ton”.

If I asked him if he had a minute to talk, he’d always answer with “shoot Luke, the sky’s full of pigeons”. Yes he had a saying for every occasion. I guess it rubbed off on me, because I find after all these years l, still repeating some of them.

To say “Friday” was a one of a kind, is an understatement. Below is a picture of Friday on a little tractor that I bought to keep our 5 acre yard mowed out on Montoplis Drive. It wasn’t hard to keep the place mowed. Someone was always willing to jump on the little Kubota and knock some grass down.