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Harrison Family Mortuary
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Tony Airhart
Bob was a great guy and a pleasure to work with and for. He was always so helpful to us younger guys--a good teacher and never made you feel ignorant or inept. His sense of humor and easy manner came through as he coached you along.
Of course, working in the powerhouse was an interesting assignment. Always lots going on...some of it even had to do with making steam. Bob always seemed to have a lawnmower or outboard motor standing by for graveyard shift and many was the night that the control room desk was converted to a workbench. If you were his helper--you learned a lot about firing boilers because there were priorities and lawnmowers needed repair so someone had to watch the boilers!
When he was just a relief Shift Engineer one night, someone had sent in a generator, lawnmower and outboard for Bob to look at. I was the Fireman's helper and was assigned the task of carrying these somewhat heavy and bulky items to the Firing Deck--up the stairs, mind you. Our large fuel oil storage tank began to leak-- a big deal and one that meant everyone from the big bosses to the Coast Guard was about to show up. Bob came rolling through the shack...a bit wide-eyed...threw me the keys to his truck and said "GET THAT CRAP OUTA HERE, NOW!!!" So while Bob managed the crisis, Tony got to carry said generator, mower and outboard back down several flights of stairs and stash them safely in the truck!
Bob must have felt an element of compassion for the task of carrying that heavy stuff and learned from it. I say that because many years later a new bar-sized refrigerator was purchased for the Shift Engineer's office. Rather than overwork the helper...Bob decided he would lash it to the manlift and send it up that way. (The manlift was a 12" wide belt that ran vertically several stories up through the powerhouse. You stood on a small step and held onto a handhold as it passed through openings in the floors.)It was a sound plan right up until the measurements regarding whether said frig would FIT through the floor opening proved false. Always resourceful, Bob and crew figured out how to unjam the wedged refrigerator and get it to its proper location with only a few dents to remind us all to tease Bob at every opportunity for years to come.
I have nothing but good memories of Bob, nothing but positives to say about him. He was an excellent Fireman/Shift Engineer, an excellent man and an excellent friend. I consider it an honor to be able to call him a friend. He will be missed by many. My sincere condolences go out to his family.
Wednesday July 29, 2009 at 4:51 am
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