Learning new skills

Once the Bobbie Lane house was framed, my Dad paired his sons with tradesmen he hired to work on the project.  My brother Don (about age 15) worked with the plumber while I (about age 14) worked with the HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) tradesman.  I don't remember what aspect of the job Maynard was assigned to, and I think by this time Melvin was already moved away from home.

I remember crawling under the house, hanging the ductwork from the floor joists, securing the ends together with hex head sheet metal screws, and then wrapping them with a thin fiberglass insulation wrap, which was stapled together to hold it in place.

As a part of the septic system, we built a septic tank out of concrete.  It consisted of two chambers, each having a concrete door at the top to allow for pumping out the sludge in the future.  The septic tank was connected to a leech field made up of trenches of gravel with a line of about 4" clay pipe that was gapped between, to allow the effluent liquid enter the rock and evaporate.

Another trade we were exposed to was working with the stone mason.

Working for the FBI, my Dad spent a lot of time in Mexico.  He found a good deal on some stone for his fireplaces and planters, and arranged to have it delivered.  He was unaware that the truck driver would show up on a Sunday morning.  It was very out of character for my dad to expect us to work on Sunday.  But I remember that one Sunday morning he had us put on our work clothes and go help him unload that truck load of stone.   There were lots of rocks on that truck!

Each of us took turns tending the stone mason.  We had to learn to mix the mortar to a consistence of his liking.  This also entailed accurately measuring the sand, plastic cement, lamp black and water into a cement mixer.  We then were tasked with keeping his mortar board loaded with mortar. It was interesting to watch him work.  Like an artist he carefully chose each rock with an eye to where it would look and fit best.  Then after giving the mortar just the right amount of time to firm up, he would clean out the joints between the rocks with a whisk broom.
When it came time to do the electrical, we all pitched in to pull the romex wires between the outlet and switch boxes and the electrical panel.  I remember spending what seemed like hours connecting the neutral and ground wires to the ground bar, and the black and red wires to the circuit breakers.

I think we tried to get involved in the stucco part of the project, but those hod buckets (Definition of HOD 1: a tray or trough that has a pole handle and that is borne on the shoulder for carrying loads (as of mortar or brick)) were just too heavy for me to carry up a ladder without spilling it all over the place.  This was back when they didn't use a pump to spray the scratch and brown coats onto the walls, but rather had to use a hod carrier to place the plaster mixture on a mortar board from which the plasterers picked it up and toweled it onto the walls.  It looked like a lot of hard work, but the house seemed much more complete after the stucco wire was covered with stucco.

My Dad hired a crew to hot mop the roofing.  He also hired a painter to paint the interior, and a flooring contractor to install the linoleum flooring and carpet.  He had the cabinets built and installed by a cabinet professional.  Of course we were there to watch them work, so it was quite educational.  When Mom and Dad finished building this new home, Don and I were finishing our last year of high school and getting ready to head off to college.  My Dad was called to be Mission President of the West Mexico Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hermosillo, Mexico.  My two younger sisters went to Mexico with them.  I made a mental note to myself that their "Dream Home" was built too late for them to enjoy with all their children at home.  When they returned from their mission four years later, they only had my youngest sister living with them in that huge house.  But years later they did enjoy the largeness of the home when their large posterity came to visit!  Before they sold the home on Bobbie Lane they had 6 children with their 6 spouses and 64 grand children, and perhaps 20 great grand children. (When he passed away in August 2011, my Dad had 64 grandchildren and 177 great grandchildren.)