YOU'VE GOT

B

arney Harvey learned aboutstructuralironworking fromhisfather'sclose friend,

Tom

Clarkson.

Both Tom's

fatherand grandfather were ironworkers.

Now,

Barney's youngerbrother,

Tommy,

isan ironworker andthree ofBarney'ssonsthink they

want

tobeiron- workers.In Barney'sfamilythe

romance

ofironworking has been passed

from

generationto generation.

This transmission ofknowledge

from

father toson, brother tobrother, friend to friendcould verywellbe taking place inanisolated

community

inthemountains of NorthCarolina. Butinthiscaseitisnot.

Tom

Clarkson, BarneyHarvey,andhisbrother

Tommy

all

work

inthe middleof Manhattan.

And

the traditionsandskillstheyare passing

on

dealwiththe artoferecting steel

beams

fiftyto one

hundred

storiesabovethesidewalks of

New

York.

Those

who

enter theironworkingtrade

become

partofa large butclose

community.

Barney Harvey,the assistant superintendent or "walking boss,"

on

the

New York

Telephone Building jobin

New

York, claimsthathe could gotoany construction jobinthe cityand

know most

of theironworkers.Similarly, a

"boomer,"

anironworker

who

travelsabout lookingforconstruction

booms,

willbe

known by

previous acquaintance or

by

reputation

by

ironworkersinallpartsofthecountry.

A

colorful folklore has

grown up

withinthis

community.

The

stories,symbols,jokes,words,aboveall,theskillsof theironworkerscomprisetheir folklore.

One

real

mark

of an ironworker,forexample,ishisvocabulary:a"pusher"is aforeman;to"drag

up"

istoquit; a"banjoblock"isa devicethrough

which

cabletravels

on

its

way from

the engine to the derrickat the topofa structureunder construction.Another aspect oftraditionisthereverence

many

ironworkers holdfor

men who

erected theearly bridgesand skyscrapers-asenseofhistoryacquirednot through books, but

by

talkingtoold-timers or tothose

who knew

the old-timers.

One

ironworkerbeautifullyexpressed hisrespect forthe historyofhis craft:"Inthe old days,the derrickswere

made

of

wood,

the

men

were

made

ofiron."

On

the seventy-fifth anniversaryoftheInternational Association ofBridge, Structural, andOrnamental Iron Workers,the living traditionsofits

members

areone of the trade's great strengths.

Atasmall restaurant near the worksite, Barney Harvey (right) stopsfor a quickbreakfast. Withhim are two fellowironworkers, JoeDowneyand his son Paul Downey, a first-year apprentice. Barney recalls: "As an apprentice,Istartedoutonawreck ingcrew, takingcareof thegasandair bottles, gettingcoffee Thatwasin 19S4.Then1wentup on theNyack Bridgeasan apprenticeearringnuts and bolts"

Barney'sfirststop of the dayisthe AmericanBridge

Company

"shanty", thetrailerofficeonthesite.Here he discusses the day'splanswithJim Nanninga, thecompanyengineer.

ectedonpre- viousdaysmuststillbeset.First,the plumbed up"bytwo

men

tha hoist.Inthe nexttwopictures bolter ups"fasten the beam securelywithbolts. Althoughbolts

have replacedrivets,Barney bers when"four-manrivetinggangs usedtotravelallaround the country onjobs.Today someguysstilltravel around together bolting-upas ateam".

Barneysuperv'isesthefinalwelding of abeam

"There's alwaysnicknamesfor differ- entworkers:Three-quarters,Icebox, Chewin' TobaccoGeorge,FivePock ets,Mr.Clean, JeffChandler,'HigTi Pockets, Alabama, Wooden Shoes, MikeyPlay-the-Piano, Shopping Bag Joe,andsome1shouldn'tmention."

W.M. Schemer of the American Bridge

Company

questions Barneyon the progress ofthe building.Jack Barrett,the superintendentlool<son.

Steel isliftedtopsidedirectlyfrom thedelivery truckbyaguyderrick.

The "streetgang"on thetruckat- taches the loadhooktoabout 6 tons ofsteel,anditislifted.

Through lunch-a hero sandwich- Barney staysinthe shanty andtalks shop: "There'sa lotofstuff thatstill hastocome down."

Barney describeswhat mustbedone next to his brother

Tommy, who

worksasasignalman. •>,

Barneyshoutsanorderasthe

men

prepare to^•lower a crane to the ground.

"You

havetokeepyoureyes open-youhave to

know

where you

Barney peersover theedgeof the building.Theironworkers shrug off thedanger of the height and narrow- nessof thebeamsupon whichthey walk. Barney says: "Youcanwalk along a curb without fallingover.

Well,youcould movethatcurbup twenty floors,anditwouldbe the same, right?"

Tommy

Harvey signals the derrick operatortohoistupthecrane. Inthe background, Barneylays ashoulderto the crane with theothers.

Oncealoft,the craneisguidedby the crew.Oneold-timer notes:"It's safer upherethanontheground because everybody looks outforeach other."

Barneyisconstantlyinmotion,from onesideof the buildingtotheother andfromfloor to floor, ashe follows each jobhismenaredoing.According toone of themen,he has earned the nickname "Beep-beep, the ri>;ul runner,because he never stops".

Barney'shobbyishisfamily.Heis interestedin hischildren,andthey

The strainof thedayisevident in Barney'sface asheslumpsto a rest at 4:30.Hewaitsaroundtolockupthe shantyandisthelastto leave.Talking about the history of hiscraft, he states:"Theironworkers back about thirtyormoreyearsagohadita lot rougher.They madethegoodcondi- tions that

we

have today".

Sometimes,ontheirway

home

from work, Barney and hisconstruction friendsstop in atavernacrossthe streetfromtheconstructionsitefor a beer.Theytalkshop and"set asmuch steelinthebarasonthejob".Itisa well-deservedrelaxationafterahard day.

rides the railroad toLong Island, then driveshome from the station.Heboughthis attractivehome inMineola three years ago to accom- modatehisfamily ofsixchildren.

^..^liSoifl

A.^<

Barney andhiswife,Peggy,relaxwith theirthreeyoungestchildren,Thomas (left), anotheraspiring ironworker, Margaret, and Patrick. Missing is Joseph, 13. Peggyunderstandsthat Barney "hastodo something out of theordinary,moredangerous,"but she rarely thinksabout thedanger involvedanymore.

On

Fridaynights,theHarveys usually have dinner in a favorite Mineola restaurant. Thisevening, theyhave unexpectedly run into some old friends, the Julianos. Peggy jokes:

"Thenightbeforewegotmarriedwas hisfirstunion meeting.Iwasn'tsure ifhe'dshowupforthewedding."

Barneyleads afull,satisfyinglifeHis job has lead him from bridges to subways,fromNew YorktoPortugal.

His philosophy: "You'vegottore- spectthe steel."

#

,'^^

^ M

f3'/^^<^

Ron Stanfordgraduated with ahistory majorfrom Grinell Collegein Grinell, IowainJune, 1971.Heearnedhisfinal semester'screditworking onthestaffof AFL-CIO LaborStudiesCenter assignedto theSmithsonianInstitution'sDivisionof PerformingArts.Herecentlycontributed abiographicalarticleforan anthologyof DocWatson's songs.