On September 20, 1956, the hard-working man I call Dad was brought into this world to make an impact. He was born to a poor, young family in the small town of Dows, Iowa. Right from the beginning, my dad and his father couldn’t quite see eye to eye. It was mostly his mom who would be there for him and try to help find a middle ground for the two to land on. At the age of 5, Dad was working for his grandfather, John Foust, whom was a very distraught, mean old man with quite an addiction to alcohol. John promised Dad many things, but many of the promises were never kept. John Foust owned a farm just outside of Dows, and the deal was, that if you weren’t old enough to work, you couldn’t come to the farm. That being said, Dad worked day
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Dad was known for being one of the meanest people to work the railroad, but he was smart, trustworthy and always gave it everything he had and his employers knew that. He had left the railroad to work at Gibbs/Cook in Fort Dodge 1976 as a diesel mechanic. Times were tough, and this position definitely proved that. Money was sparse, and people didn’t have the cash flow to be bringing their equipment in to get repaired. While days were slow, many workers would just relax and kick back since there was nothing to do, and because Dad was so new, he was sure he was going to get the cut from Gibbs/Cook. Money was an issue for the company, and cuts were being made. Owners and supervisors were starting to bring up names, starting from the bottom, and Dad was right there. Supervision was on their way out to break the news, but when they walked out, they saw all of the guys that they have had working there for years, had their feet kicked up, and were reading the papers, but the one person with a broom, sweeping the entire shop floor was the one about to get the cut. He had made enough of an impact, supervision passed right over him. Soon after, Gibbs/Cook was bought out by Ziegler Incorporated, and Dad had a new job and exciting future starting for him. The position at Ziegler entailed the same job duties as the …show more content…
My dad’s work ethic is beyond words can explain, and every one of his employers could vouch for that. Although Dad at home is a completely different person than Dad (boss) at work, he still managed to teach me right from wrong. Starting as a young man in a company, on the verge of being let go, he battled the recession simply by proving he was not afraid to pick up a broom to show he was worth it. Still during tough times, and being the only source of income in his family, he managed to prove to my mother every day that he loved her, and the two of them raised two wonderful children together. Now as an older gentleman, he continues to be a role model for me and many others. I am regularly asking myself “what would Dad do,” and am not afraid to call him on the phone and ask for advice. Come December, I plan on making sure my son knows the true meaning of hard-work, just as Dad had taught me, and I hope my son thinks as highly of me, as I do my
Dad was known for being one of the meanest people to work the railroad, but he was smart, trustworthy and always gave it everything he had and his employers knew that. He had left the railroad to work at Gibbs/Cook in Fort Dodge 1976 as a diesel mechanic. Times were tough, and this position definitely proved that. Money was sparse, and people didn’t have the cash flow to be bringing their equipment in to get repaired. While days were slow, many workers would just relax and kick back since there was nothing to do, and because Dad was so new, he was sure he was going to get the cut from Gibbs/Cook. Money was an issue for the company, and cuts were being made. Owners and supervisors were starting to bring up names, starting from the bottom, and Dad was right there. Supervision was on their way out to break the news, but when they walked out, they saw all of the guys that they have had working there for years, had their feet kicked up, and were reading the papers, but the one person with a broom, sweeping the entire shop floor was the one about to get the cut. He had made enough of an impact, supervision passed right over him. Soon after, Gibbs/Cook was bought out by Ziegler Incorporated, and Dad had a new job and exciting future starting for him. The position at Ziegler entailed the same job duties as the …show more content…
My dad’s work ethic is beyond words can explain, and every one of his employers could vouch for that. Although Dad at home is a completely different person than Dad (boss) at work, he still managed to teach me right from wrong. Starting as a young man in a company, on the verge of being let go, he battled the recession simply by proving he was not afraid to pick up a broom to show he was worth it. Still during tough times, and being the only source of income in his family, he managed to prove to my mother every day that he loved her, and the two of them raised two wonderful children together. Now as an older gentleman, he continues to be a role model for me and many others. I am regularly asking myself “what would Dad do,” and am not afraid to call him on the phone and ask for advice. Come December, I plan on making sure my son knows the true meaning of hard-work, just as Dad had taught me, and I hope my son thinks as highly of me, as I do my