Man on the Street with Greg Kristapovich
“What kind of summer jobs have YOU had?” (asked in Sierra Village)
“Well, I’ve worked at a pizza restaurant since I was probably about two years old; not working fully, but bussing tables, stuff like that. A good summer job I had last summer was “horse-packing”. You know, taking people into the Immigrant (Wilderness) It was like a five-hour trip in, on horseback! Then, it was a week of just being out there and cooking in old cast-iron pots! The rest of the summer I make pizza and bus tables. It’s hard work, but it’s fun!” – Jacob “Pork” Skinner, Sugar Pine, (high school junior/pizza maker/”manager”)
“I was always working on a pipeline, in different states, like Alaska, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina; the Northeast, mainly; and in different situations; laying new pipe. We laid up to 48-inch (diameter) concrete-coated pipes across rivers. Sometimes, we’d bore underneath the rivers and roadways. The pipes carried crude oil to a refinery. I also repaired broken pipes, hauled equipment, ran equipment. Sometimes it was like we worked 24 hours, 7 days a week!…in the rain and the snow, in emergencies! I did this starting at age 22. It was hard work, but I loved it! It paid good!” – Clayton Bailey, Cold Springs, (retired pipeliner)
“A lot of my summer jobs have been with my dad (John) and my brother, Zach, for about ten years now, doing construction. I found my niche doing tile-setting; but I’ve done some awful jobs like clearing out nasty debris; and climbing up extension ladders to the third floor to put up trim and siding. I’ve learned a lot and I’m always willing to try and do anything! My dad had me run a jackhammer and we’ve built fences that are over 100 feet long! We’ve done a lot of woodworking and carpentry. I know I don’t weigh much more than a bag of concrete, but I can carry it!” – Samantha Clow, Sierra Village, (cashier/tilesetter)
“In the early ‘70s, we lived in Merced. We used to get up in the morning, walk a country mile to go pick tomatoes. We had to get there before the migrant workers! We only got paid 25 cent a bucket. If we were lucky, we make six bucks for the day! We’d start at 4 in the morning and quit at noon. We did that every day, during the heat, no matter what; we were there picking away! We ended up losing our job because we weren’t quick enough. Then it was lawn mowing. We’d get our bikes and tie a lawnmower to the back, ride into town and mow peoples’ lawns – for a couple bucks if we were lucky. Just make sure you didn’t have a flat tire – and the lawnmower stayed behind you!” – Dan Skinner, Sugar Pine, (pizza parlor owner)
“I was probably about fifteen, and started driving for the county of San Joaquin, in Stockton. My father said, ‘You’re too young to drive. I said “No! I’m fine!” So he signed for me and I drove for civil service for five years. It took me everywhere; Army trucks to Seattle, to San Francisco – anywhere the Army needed vehicles! It was fun. I thought I had the world by its tail then. I was young, made good money! Sometimes, we’d party too late at night, my girlfriends and I. We’d go pay $1.75 for a soda pop in the bars to have a good time! We were Three Muskateers, we thought! After the war, the job ended, but I soon went to work in fiberboard, in Stockton, making boxes for raisins, crackers and most anything!” – Louise Brueckner, Sierra Village, (gas station/auto repair shop owner)
