For as long as I can remember I have always had an interest in cars. Well, anything that had a motor and some wheels really. Before high school, I wanted to go to the Vo-Tech School but the parental units put a stop to that. I ended up in a college prep program that ended poorly. (I still regret I didn’t pay attention during Spanish.) I ended my senior year in a work/study program, working in a local gas station. All this time, I was working with my friends on whatever car we could get our hands on, repairing and breaking them in a very rapid pace.
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| Poster we bought for the future garage |
After high school, I enrolled in Lincoln Technical Institute for a year long program to become an Automotive Technician. Shortly after I was done, I was certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) as a Master Mechanic. In those days it was difficult to make a living fixing cars, I found myself employed by some rather shady outfits. I soon found another calling with the Fire Department and the rest, as some say, is history.
However, I never lost my enjoyment with fixing cars and working on all things mechanical. I always dreamed of fixing an old car and turning it into a Hot Rod or even just a cruiser. Ten years after retirement and leaving the full-time RV lifestyle, I am returning to that dream.
It all starts, for me anyway, with a dedicated place to work, with a lift and other equipment to fix, restore, modify or otherwise create the vehicle of my desires. Now we build the Pole Barn! (nicknamed “The Backend Of Nowhere Garage”)
When Donna and I were looking for our place to put down roots and RV less often (we will still “snowbird”), we needed to have enough property to put up a building where I could set up shop. Our original property in Jamestown was 5 acres, more than enough space. It was mostly flat and out of the way. A bonus was it being in a county that had little in the way of restrictions and no permits.
Fast forward a few years and the dream was modified to our current residence in the same county. We needed a house and decided not to go through the building of one on the Jamestown property. But the goals were the same.
Much (many) measurements were taken, changed, enlarged, decreased – finally, the land was staked and the excavation and materials ordered. Some may remember this as the pasture where a neighbor stored his cows for a couple of months.
Now the ground for the pole barn has been broken and by the end of summer the shop will be well on its way to a reality. I will chronicle our progress via this blog and then, hopefully, on the various projects I will tackle.
Stay Tuned!
Good luck in your new venture.