Engineers News: May 2008
Retiree's history rich with inventions, stories
Seventy-three-year-old Gardner Downer is no stranger to construction, nor is his family. His grandfather, Gilbert H. Downer, was the first inventor of the tractor excavator in 1906. It was 46 feet long with a single tiller wheel in front, a “labor-saving device,” it was said to be, although Gilbert never patented it, since he thought the industry would change before it was needed. How wrong he was!
Even though Gardner never met his grandfather, his labor spirit and intellect was passed on to him and his two brothers, Gilbert and Kenneth, both Local 3 members. His nephew is also a superintendent in the Stockton area, and Gardner’s father was also a construction contractor.
More than the unique invention of his heritage, what is most interesting about Gardner is the passion he has for the construction industry.
“I loved going to work every day. Every morning, we’d all get there 45 minutes to catch up and drink coffee,” Gardner said. The crews he worked with were his family, and all day long, they made it fun for each other.
“I’d tease everybody and pull pranks; I made going to work fun.” He recalls putting a 3-foot-long bull snake in the lunch box of an operator whose wife found it at home later that day. One time, his crewmembers bolted him into the “blue room” or outhouse!
In his 51 years in the industry, Gardner remembers when “work” was a lifestyle, even though the cabs were often topless without any air conditioning or heaters.
Safety is also a new concept, since Gardner remembers running a boom between power lines, because no one told him it was a safety hazard. He recalls an older operator on the job telling him: “Son, when I feel my hands starting to tickle, I’ll know I’m too close to the wires.
“We lived by the seat of our pants,” Gardner said. “And we loved it.”
Gardner recalls working with current District 80 Joint Apprenticeship Committee (JAC) Coordinator Jesse Vasquez back when he was just a kid, “the best mechanic I ever worked with,” Gardner said.
Which means a lot coming from a man who worked right up until his retirement in 1997 and then went back to work for seven more years after that. Work was never a burden, since Gardner started from the ground up doing whatever was asked of him, digging ditches, working with his hands, until he could operate any equipment, mostly underground work; there was nothing he couldn’t do.
Today, Gardner keeps many shifts at the local Carmichael coffee shop, visiting with a crew of retirees there. He gets in as much fishing as he can and hopes that the history of the industry and the remarkable invention in his family remains a part of people’s conversation long after he passes on. But judging by the way he tells a story and the photos he has to share, chances are his wish will be granted.
