Beer, Ice and Snow - a Remembrance

When the custom cabinet shop I worked at back in 1968 went under (due to the introduction of pre-made cabinets), I got another job making cabinets at a small construction company. These were much less quality of cabinets than I was making before, by the way (pressboard covered with Formica, not real wood). But, the builder put them into the homes he made, so people bought them along with the houses.

I worked with the owner's father, Frank, who was in his 70's, but easily the best damn finish carpenter I ever saw. And, when the shop work was light, I would go out and help the two-person construction crew. I once helped them roof a tri-level house in a snowstorm, but that's another tale...

The one dozer driver was a big, burly man in his 30's. He could literally drink more beer than anyone I ever knew (before or since). And, he drank it in a very strange way. He had a huge mug (more like a small pitcher) that he would fill with ice and then dump in a quart bottle of beer. And, he never seemed to get "drunk," just morose.

I was told a story about him by the owner but I never had the balls to ask him personally if it was true. It was said the reason he drank so heavily is that he accidentally killed a child once...

He was in the Air Force and stationed up in Alaska. His duty was to keep the runways and taxiways clear of the heavy, six to eight foot snows, using a huge bulldozer with a giant snow blower attached to the front. Unbeknownst to him, some of the base kids had built tunnels in the snow that inadvertently crossed a taxiway. He never saw a thing, just the blown snow turning red...