We typically showed up before 8 am and clocked in at 8

We typically showed up before 8 am and clocked in at 8. We wandered over to the paint shack and waited to figure out if we were going to work that day. The issue was humidity. If it was too high they could not paint and the paint foreman sent us home.

So, if it was raining when we were at the time clock, they sent us home with no pay. If we clocked in, but the humidity was too high, they sent us home and paid us for two hours. If we went to the job site and started working and then the rain came, we got paid for half a day if we left before noon or for a full day if we left after noon. Clearly, we prayed for a 1 PM rain storm.

Most of this summer we worked about 10-15 feet above ground on overhead pipe racks. The pipes were anywhere from a foot to three feet in diameter and we just straddled them and started scraping, wire brushing and sanding. It was hard, dirty work, but it paid well. We also got to wear hard hats which I put in the on the back seat shelf of my 55 Ford Victoria. I though it looked cool back there.