Labor Day: Remembering My Father And His Tools

Sunday is Labor Day.

This day always reminds me of my dad, who worked for almost his whole life as long as he could.

From his stories, I learned that he started working at about age 14. First, as a barbershop apprentice and later he worked at a concrete tiles factory. Probably after his military service, he finished his craft training as a bricklayer and worked in that profession until an eye injury prevented him from doing so. But even then he could not "do nothing": he rented a patch at a community garden and spent years busy growing his own vegetables.

Although a bricklayer by profession, he was trained in an old-fashioned way and as such had very specialized skills which currently probably are not that common anymore: building twisted columns, arches, and other special constructions. As a consequence, he was often asked by the companies he worked for to attend to their more special projects.

I still have some of his tools, including these chisels.

Happy Labor Day, triggering fond memories.