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San Nicholas island is the most remote of the Channel Islands that line the Southern California coastline. The 22 square mile piece of land is controlled by the US Navy, and is used as a training facility and for weapons testing. “They’d send us out there on a boat, or they’d fly us out there for a week at a time," Slip remembered, “We were there to wreck out a few miles of overhead.”It was summertime, and the job was a real treat, different from the typical work on the mainland. With limitations and lack of convenience, even the tiniest...

While working on overhead distribution systems near the ocean special copper wire is utilized to weather the damp, salty air. Over time, the brownish gold line earns it’s patina and turns to a bluish green. Miles of this runs along the California coastline.It was about 4 am on a week night, and a crew was thrown together to stack hundred dollar bills at the expense of a drunken driver. A car had crashed through all sorts of things in the neighborhood until coming to an abrupt and final stop beneath a proud chunk of cedar. Neither fared well as a...

Whatʼs the saying the old timers keep saying?...oh yeah...”Living the dream”. Since Iʼve been working here for all of a week Iʼm not sure iʼve earned that saying yet but... Just a stupid grunt...and I was...trying to do whatever is necessary so I wouldnʼt get my ass ripped. So now, out here in the middle Palm Springs, the wind blowing so hard the sand in the air was like fog...visibility about 10ʼ or so. The job weʼre on is fix an arching wire...at least that was the foreman was told We put the platforms on the boom truck and the 2...

In the later 25 years of his career, our “Slip” was a crew foreman: assembling line crews from IBEW local 11 of Greater Los Angeles, IBEW local 1245 of Vacaville, IBEW local 47 of Diamond Bar, and IBEW local 952— his home base of Ventura, California. “Baby Ben” was delivered from local 11 in the summer of 1960-something, at six foot three inches long, and 300 pounds 4 ounces. His lovable character and soft looking stature the inspiration behind the name. “I’ll bring the brains, you bring the string…” Dodging the extra physical work, “Baby Ben” ripped up the first fifty...

The workday had come to an end on a summer Friday afternoon, and the worn out trucks were filing their way down the unforgiving mountain back to the Saticoy yard. They had worked out on the steep oil lease all week, and the boys were anticipating a cold shower and a colder beer. Some showed it more than others, especially the driver of a certain bent and rickety 1960’s Jeep Gladiator. “Weenie” was a terrible driver, they all knew it, but nobody dared bring it to his attention. Somehow this particular afternoon he had managed a passenger— a brave soul...