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36 • JANUARY 2014 • WORLD FENCE NEWS OVERSEAS DISTRIBUTORS, INC. ODI BUY DIRECTLY FROM THE MANUFACTURER! www.odifence.com Bud Tholl enhanced legacy of his family's business continued from previous page Associated General Contractors, of which he was very proud. He was also recognized with his induction into the Sparks High School Hall of Fame, the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame Award, and the Western Industrial Nevada Winner's Award. He was a participant in the Nevada Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. in 2013. New guy just doesn't dig the concept of the power auger BY JIM HART, WFN CONTRIBUTING EDITOR EMERITUS BALTIMORE 800-531-3348 HOUSTON 800-303-3348 TAMPA 888-921-3348 MADE IN USA Booth No. 713 Now manufacturing Aigis Turnstiles! Aigis line of turnstiles acquired from Linear, adding to an already robust line of access control products being manufactured and distributed by Pro Access. Contact us today for all of your turnstile needs. Your single source provider of gates, access controls, operators, hardware and support. Visit ProAccessSystems.com or call (800) 800-3356 today. AT L ANTA (7 70) 955-4411 CHICAG O ( 630) 426- 0022 DENVER ( 303) 288-7003 TA MPA (813) 881-1200 SLIDE GATES | SWING GATES | CRASH GATES | TURNSTILES | CUSTOM GATES AND FABRICATION In memory of Jim Hart, fencer, storyteller, and world class humorist, we will occasionally reprint one of the many articles that he contributed to World Fence News over the years. Here is one that was originally published December 1991. Jim passed away in Florida, where he lived, a number of years ago. • • • Guess what I found on our house the other day? A real, genuine protuberance. You know, a "bubble" under the paint, about the size of a quarter. To say I was shocked is to put it mildly, especially since we had the place painted not more than 10 years ago! But yes, there it was. Now, you have two choices in a case like this: Let it alone, or bust it up and repaint. I got the incurable tinker's itch and busted it. Course, I ain't satisfied to just remove the protuberance. No, I get the 100-watt idea to take out that new pressure nozzle I bought a couple of years ago. The nozzle works beautifully, and lives up to all the claims made by the manufacturer. It slices through paint like a knife, and huge sheets of exterior latex come flying off the house like giant snowflakes. What started out as a 3/4 inch bubble in the paint has blossomed into 3,200 square feet of squeaky clean masonry that has to be painted. I completely forgot that I was supposed to be putting in 500 feet of 48" chain link, until one of my part-timers comes in and needs $50 to pay his probation officer. I tell him he has caught me at a bad time. He says, "If you ain't got it, I'm dead! Seven years minimum!" I tell him, "I got it, you want it, you work for it! I'll pay you $1 a hole to get that 500 footer started." He quickly calculates an hourly wage against $1 a hole, and says "Where's the truck keys?" About this time, a stranger saunters up, and asks about a job. He don't know anything about fence, but is willing to learn. I tell him I'll try him out for a couple of hours at minimum wage to see how he likes it. I tell my part-timer to take him with him to show him the ropes. I front the part-timer the $50, by the way, and about an hour later he calls in and says he's sick and has to go home. He tells me that the new guy wants to keep on working. Since he's showed him where to dig the post holes, I can live with that. I tell him to bring the truck home when he's through. Later I call the customer to see how things are going. The customer says the guy is "pounding away at it," and "I've never seen anybody go at it like he is." Well, I don't think anything is particularly strange at this point, and I assure the customer that all my crew members are highly trained specialists. If you say so, replies the customer. Well, it starts to get dark, the new man has been gone for 10 hours, and I'm about to borrow a neighbor's mule and go looking for him. By now, if he stole the truck, it's probably been cut up and is on its way to South America for spare parts. Anyway, right about this time he rolls into the yard. He says he just put in the hardest day of his life. "Did you get 'em all dug?" I ask. "I got five dug, finally," he says. "That post hole digger of yours is a real hernia maker! I don't know how you ever get anything done with it!" Five holes in 10 hours. I'm mentally picking out a spot on the back 40 to bury this guy on. Kill him I will, I just ain't figured out how yet. "Five holes in 10 hours in solid granite I can live with," I holler. "Five holes in sand is ridiculous!" "It's that damn digger," he says. "That spiral thing on the bottom wouldn't let it hog out any sand! Chuck showed me how to use it, with little jabs in and out. It's a killer! I'd rather use them other diggers with the wood handles, but Chuck said that heavy sucker would do it quicker and easier." We had just put a new clutch in it, and a new clutter blade, and it had worked fine up until now. When I continued on page 56