Category: On The Job

Crazy Times, Old Dog - New Trick, On The JobLeave a comment

The PreCast Concrete Venture That Exposed Me To A Ponzi Scheme

lewisotr

The year was 1991. I had spent 20 years digging ditches and I thought enough is enough. The economy was in the crapper. The great real estate boom of the 80s was over and all the big water and wastewater lines had been constructed to the far reaches of the city and beyond in Austin. The future didn’t look so swell for our business. I needed a break. I thought it was time for some new scenery, so to speak. I had two groups of employees by that time. The old and the new. It was time for the old … Continue reading The PreCast Concrete Venture That Exposed Me To A Ponzi Scheme

Construction, Crazy Times, On The JobLeave a comment

The Martin’s – Dirt Men All The Way

lewisotr

Uncle Bob Martin worked for me a couple of times in the 70’s. He was slow and steady but was accomplishing something with every motion. Cousin Butch Martin worked for me several times. We was the opposite of his Dad. He was fast and all over everything, but man could he move dirt. You just always knew it wouldn’t last long, before he’d twist off and not show up. Each time I’d swear that was the last. But he had an uncanny way of arriving when you most needed someone in the seat of that dozer, so I’d put him … Continue reading The Martin’s – Dirt Men All The Way

In and Around Austin, On The JobLeave a comment

Attorney’s Don’t Always Think Out Their Next Question

lewisotr

One time years ago we were working beside North Lamar out just north of Rhomberg Lane in north Austin. A few blocks south of our job site 2 cars got together in a pretty bad crash. Attorneys got involved and started suing everyone they could think of. I’m not sure how our name got involved but it did and we were named in the suit. Several months or even years had past when an attorney called me to get a statement. She had almost worn me completely out when I told her that I would send her a map marked … Continue reading Attorney’s Don’t Always Think Out Their Next Question

Crazy Times, On The Job2 Comments

Capitol National Bank, Winfield and Me

lewisotr

Back when my friend Winfield, the CPA, worked for me we were being courted by one of the big downtown Austin banks. Emory Thompson was the pitch man for The Capitol National Bank that would come by and try to get us bring our business to them. I knew him, his family had owned a big tire business that had sold and he went from being a tire salesman to being a money salesman. We had been doing business with a small local bank in north Austin, aptly named North Austin State Bank. They had done everything I’d ever wanted … Continue reading Capitol National Bank, Winfield and Me

Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Fire

lewisotr

Madeline was going through a bunch of old stuff in her cedar chest a while back and she ran across this newspaper clipping of a piece of construction equipment we had one time that caught fire. I wrote a story about this incident long ago. In fact it is even in The Angora Chronicles book. Just don’t want anyone thinking I exaggerated the “degree” to which the fire was. This photo shows it so well. The Story About The Fire: Ruby Waggoner was my dad’s mother. She and my grandfather had divorced when Cecil was very young. He was raised … Continue reading The Fire

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

More About Jester Blvd.

lewisotr

We had just finished getting the entire length of the boulevard built from bottom to top, the base was laid and tested, the curbs were all in, all we needed to do was put the asphalt down when the Memorial Day Flood of 1981 hit Austin. During the course of that one night and day, the torrents of water that came down, coupled with the extreme steep grades, we saw 3500 tons of limestone flex-base disappear from that hill. To give you an idea of how much that is, it took 150 large 18 wheeler loads to replace it. In … Continue reading More About Jester Blvd.

Another Daily Happening, Construction, Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

A Slight Miscalculation

lewisotr

We were working in Lakeway laying a wastewater off a really steep hill. This was back in the late 1970’s. I ordered gravel that came all the way from Georgetown. I would place an order for 200 tons, about 10 truckloads, but 2 trucks would show up. The next day the same scenario played out. We were really needing some gravel, if we were ever going to finish that job. I decided I would get that truckers attention so I ordered 1000 tons. I figured that way I may get my 200 tons that I needed. I was a Friday. … Continue reading A Slight Miscalculation

Another Daily Happening, My Friends, On The JobLeave a comment

Big Jimmy Finally Got A Belly Full Of Me

lewisotr

This is a story I wrote a couple years ago. I know this because it was the 43rd birthday of my oldest son Matthew – August 22, 1974. Sometimes it takes a call from an old friend to stir up memories from the past. Jimmy Palmer called to wish me a happy birthday. He always likes to sing happy birthday to me. I reminded him that 43 years ago today we were working over on Knuckles Crossing Road in Southeast Austin. I remember that because we lived just a very shorty distance from that job while Madeline was really big … Continue reading Big Jimmy Finally Got A Belly Full Of Me

Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early Days, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Cleaning Golf Balls

lewisotr

When all moved from Marble Falls we rented places Oak Hill, on Highway 71 out west of town. Madeline and I had our own mobile home. At the same trailer park in a rented trailer was Jimmy Palmer, Glenn Lewis and Jeff Carter. They mostly comprised my crew at that time. In the summertime of 1972 were working on a project at Lakeway. We were helping build a condo project, one of the first ones at Lakeway, which was a fairly small community in those days. One part of our project called for us to drain a pond at the … Continue reading Cleaning Golf Balls

Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Day Jimmy Shut The Job Down

lewisotr

We were running short on work one time when Big Jimmy and I were young guys. We went over to help a competitor get caught up. Big Jimmy was a real pushover. He always carried packages of gum. All the labor crew would aggravate him about wanting a stick of gum. It was costing him a small fortune to keep them all in chewing gum. Or at least that was his claim. He was complaining about that when we made our morning stop at a store. There in the sundries were packages of Feen-A-Mint Gum. I said give them each … Continue reading The Day Jimmy Shut The Job Down