As UCC grew, depending on excavating subs was not working. The housing market was soaring, and George was being held back. His first piece of heavy equipment was a Koehring 305 Crane with interchangeable backhoe attachment.
His first operator was Jerry Benz of Springville. Soon Jim Holland came along as an oiler but soon started operating the 305. It was quite an accomplishment for a 17-year-old farm
boy. Jim stayed with Union Concrete for over forty years, and was like an older brother to the Hill boys. He enjoyed retirement but sadly, he passed away while preparing the 305 for our 50th Anniversary.
We cannot proceed with our story without a discussion about Southern Erie County and its abundance of fine workmen. The following guys gave UCC a great kickstart. I will probably forget some but please forgive – I was a small child when the folks came on.
Holland:
The Liddle Brothers: Walter and Russ were lifers, Jack worked on and off. Walter’s sons, Jack, Pat, and Mike worked for us, as well as Russ’s son Jim. All the sons worked summers while they went to school.
The Underhills: Stan, who moved away, Les a lifer, and Don “Red” also a lifer. Les’s three sons David, Mark, and Mike all did temporary work with us, and Red’s son Duane was also a lifer.
The Pratt Brothers: Dave, John, and Ike were integral to the first decade of Union Concrete, but they found themselves in a disagreement with George, and moved on.
Springville:
The Wright Brothers: Tiny was a lifer, and Hap moved south. Bob Kuhl and his son Jerry Kuhl, Duke Dains were all lifers.
Chaffee:
Jim Holland, a lifer, was the nephew of the Liddle Brothers.
West Falls:
Bill Baker got in a fight with George, but his brother-in-law Dave Hoffman was a lifer. I guess it’s fair to say that nepotism runs rampant in our hiring policy.
Continued next week…
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