Hot Summer Ironwork is Hardwork
July 10, 2024•549 words
"Face your problems head on. Do what you have to do to take care of it. Develop a good work ethic." ~ George Chuvalo
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." ~ Colin Powell
"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." ~ Colin Powell
Engaging in physically hard, laborious work can make a young person reflect deeply on their future career and lifestyle.
Recently, I had a conversation with a parent of one of my students, and we found ourselves reminiscing about our teenage years. Like two old friends swapping stories, we discussed how the demanding work we did as teenagers shaped our desire for a better work-life balance in the future.
The parent recounted his experiences working in scaffolding, describing how strenuous the job was, the challenges of working three or four stories high, and the inherent dangers of such labour. His stories brought back vivid memories of my labour-intensive work during the hot summer months. Like many young Aboriginal men, I was fearless, understanding that facing danger was a part of growing up and so many of us were ironworkers during the summer, even though it was illegal since I was only 15 and the legal age was 18 due to the heavy physical demands and risks.
I remember the experience vividly: walking across 10-inch-wide iron structural beams, hanging off the side of tall buildings from tied-down rebar, and working 20 to 40 stories on high-rises. We tied rebars with steel gauge wire on buildings resembling skeletons of high-rises showing only tall long iron cranes protruding out from the middle of the building, iron beams, rebars, and cement. I worked alongside my older brother, who was a Foreman for PCL contractor. Together, we handled rebar and structural components - tying steal, lining up and bolting down structural beams on high-rise buildings in Calgary and Vancouver, navigating the job's intense heat and ever-present dangers.
The challenging task of lifting two 35mm rebar (metal reinforcement bars used to increase the tensile strength of concrete), each 30 feet long, with my brother. They weighed over 150 pounds of scorching hot iron. We would hoist these heavy bars onto our shoulders, enduring the painful bouncing that pinched and tore the skin on our shoulders and neck. The burning pain and exhaustion were relentless, leaving my arms, back, and legs feeling as if I had spent hours in a weight room, every muscle in my body full of lactic acid. Despite the physical torment, my mind would wander to thoughts of learning, reading, and writing at university.
After a long hot Summer day's work, I dreamt of pursuing higher education and earning university degrees, motivated by the hope of a better, more fulfilling future.
Being a high school student working as an ironworker during the summer months, helped build my mental fortitude to work extremely hard when I started college. As an incentive, my brother would pay for my eye glasses that I needed and textbooks for most my classes.