#61
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Cheers Richard.
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Richard |
#62
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Kent what background did you have prior to Harrah's and how did you get them to take you on? I expect that there must have been stiff competition to get an apprenticeship there.
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Scott in Montreal |
#63
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I worked at a back street resto shop, Classic Machine and Restoration for 8-10 months. Already had my own torch set and had gone to night school to become a tig boy by then. I learned my way around a 1913 Type 35 Mercer and a 1912 Stutz Bearcat, which were under complete resto at the time. I also pulled the front drive out of a '37 812SC phaeton, took it apart, got advice on what was wrong and had the parts made and then reass'd it and put it back in - and it actually worked!... (no manual, of course). Time went by and the shop folded, and Plotner said he was going back to HAC. He told me the only place in the US to learn the real old school metalwork (my new very compelling focus) was there at HAC. I told my family (old Nevada) that I wanted to make an effort to go to work there, and was told to wait a few days. Then I was told to put in an app. every Friday afternoon, filled out a certain way. After 6 weeks of that I met with an interviewer down at the "club" and was told to report for work out at the Collection. I was expecting mopper, wiper, paint stripper, car pusher, car washer, or sandblaster duty, but was taken instead to the Wood Shop, based on my vast prior experience (8 months in a cabinet shop.) I lasted in the Wood Shop all the way to morning coffee break, or a few minutes after, whereupon I was taken back to the mgmt ofc and re-interviewed on my experience. Since I had welding experience I was next sent to the Body Shop. The lead man was gone a-hunting for 3 weeks at the time and Halvorson gave me a tour and then asked, "Can you do metalwork?" I said, "No, but I can weld and do mechanical." He replied, "you had best get real good and useful before he comes back." And so I squeaked in. It was only years later, after many had asked me who I was related to that I discovered my family had known a good friend of the Harrah VP, but that I had to earn it on my own. Several youths related to Harrah bosses came and went while I was there, but it was tough, very tough to work there. I was 22 and the men ranged in age from 57 to 75, and they were all business, having had their own shops and/or worked at Boeing, Interstate Aircraft, Lear, Hudson, Brewster, Rolls, etc etc. Amazing talent there. We did some amazing work.
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Kent http://www.tinmantech.com "All it takes is a little practical experience to blow the he!! out of a perfectly good theory." --- Lloyd Rosenquist, charter member AWS, 1919. Last edited by crystallographic; 10-23-2015 at 01:22 AM. |
#64
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Fascinating. Thanks Kent.
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Scott in Montreal |
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