Your Grandfather's Apprenticeship

daclark · 2006-07-21T17:28:29+00:00

Grandfather was a Kentucky hill boy, born in 1900, whose family owned the local corn mill. There was virtually no paper currency and very little hard money, so the local economy was based upon the barter of corn. This made the family much like the local banker, and they became well to do by that standard of exchange. Rather than having to hoe the family tobacco, grandfather had the option of choosing trade, and at the age of thirteen, apprenticed himself to the local blacksmith. By the time he was in his early twenties, Grandfather had the reputation of being able to make and build anything out of metal. Hearing of this ability, Harvey Firestone came and hired Grandfather out of the blacksmith's shop and took him to Ohio, where the first tire building machine was constructed in Firestone's garage. But, Grandfather's apprenticeship never ended; he went on to establish seventeen manufacturing plants in the US, three in Europe, and established the rubber plantations in India and Southeast Asia. Today, D-line at the Des Moines plant, now owned by Bridgestone, still utilizes ten machines hand built by my Grandfather. My own father was the leading light of the national rubber workers union, until it was busted. The ethic of apprenticeship, which is the subject of my dissertation, is well founded in this story. Until the last few generations, the bond between father and son, grandfather and grandson, was cemented in the love of sharing the knowledge and understanding of their craft...through the daily experience of honest labor. An acquaintance, a seventh generation woodcarver, said it best. "If I tell you it's Chippendale, it's Chippendale...not because of conformity to design...but because I use the same tool and the same technique that I learned from my grandfather, who learned from his grandfather, who learned from his grandfather...who was there. What was your grandfather's trade? http:/

Jul 21, 2006 24 Replies

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daclark 20 years ago

Third generation...the very essence of tradition. Your belief is well founded; apprenticeship is a lifelong pursuit. Thank you...

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Robin S. 20 years ago

Yikes.

Regards,

Robin

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* 20 years ago

Robin S. wrote in article ...

If the fact that I was a teacher surprises you, the idea that I had the highest placement rate - graduates going on to work in the specific field for which they trained - out of 16 Vocational programs in the entire school for the last five years I taught should REALLY twist your shorts.

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Robin S. 20 years ago

I cannot agree with your opinion regarding apprenticeships being a waste of time and stiffling innovation. How can one innovate when he does not know how to build current products correctly?

If you have not been exposed to a job where people work for more than a decade and are still not entirely competent, you may not appriciate the value of apprenticeships and the value of a competent journeymen.

I'm not dismissing your profession or industry, but I'm not sure you appriciate where professional machinists and toolmakers/moldmakers are coming from.

Regards,

Robin

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