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The
Art of Water Tower Maintenanceby
Johnny Stucco |
Men
Working
TE photo, December 2006 |
What
to Do When Your Water Tower FreezesThe
people of Waelder, Texas
faced just such an uncomfortable and unthinkable calamity back in the Winter of
1981. It was just before Christmas and residents of tiny Waelder, Texas (population
947) were watching their propane yule logs burn, baking Pecan pies or festooning
their trees with faux-icicles. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the merrymaking townsfolk,
the cast iron pipe of the town's water tank was forming icicles of its own - real
ones - from a rapidly splitting crack. It wasn't long before the combination of
temperature and metal fatigue opened the tower's main pipe completely and the
town was suddenly without water. It must've seemed to some Waelderites that the
pipe had held on all year - just biding it's time until it could break at the
most inconvenient moment.
Fortunately, the town had a friend in the form
of Frank Gaspard, a man who owned a ranch in nearby Harwood (10 miles west on
old Highway 90). Here the word 'friend' is a major understatement. Considering
the circumstances, Frank Gaspard was the best friend Waelder could've hoped for.
Frank Gaspard just happened to be the owner of Water Tank Maintenance
Services. (A utilitarian company name if ever there was one.) Someone in Waelder
remembered that Frank lived down the road and before you could say "Remember the
Alamo!" someone was knocking at Mr. Gaspard's door with the urgent request that
couldn't be ignored. The Gaspard family and the Waelder Volunteer Fire Department
spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after Christmas getting water service
restored to the grateful community. |
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Waelder's
Water Tower
TE photo, November 2006 |
A
Brief History of WTMS
Frank
Gaspard, originally from Louisiana, had bought the company in 1972 from a Mr.
Fink who had started the company in 1958. Mr. Gaspard ran WTMS up until two years
ago when he retired and his son Russell took the helm. |
On
Site
If
you were to drive up to a WTMS jobsite (just look for the water tower), Russell
Gaspard could easily be mistaken for a member of the crew since he's usually the
one at the end of the rope, suspended from the scaffolding or wielding the paint
brush. Wearing a cotton welder's cap with the squinted gaze of a man who needs
to notice details, Russell has spent nearly 30 of his 43 years on earth in the
water tower game. Services offered by WTMS include all phases of maintenance,
inspection, sandblasting, painting, and even dismantling. If you want your high
school team's mascot painted on the side of the tower, that too, can be arranged.
WTMS is one of only two companies left in Texas capable of offering small towns
turnkey operations.
WTMS is also certified by the National Association
of Corrosive Engineers. (A fun bunch despite their name. If they have a convention
in your town, try your best to attend.) |
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The
WTMS crew. Left to Right: Livio Hernandez originally from Dominica, Robert Gonzalez,
and Albert Munoz of Rio Grande City, Texas (Nephew and Uncle), and Owner Russell
Gaspard.
TE Photo December 5th, 2006. |
Russell
learns the ropes - the hard way.
After
watching his father Frank working aloft on one particular job, thirteen year-old
Russell grew bored with goings on at ground level and decided to get an up-close
first hand look at what his father was doing. Although he had been warned against
it, Russell climbed the tower. But his accent didn't go unnoticed. Halfway up
he was spotted by his father and rather than lose time taking Russell all the
way down - Frank took his son the rest of the way up. Russell spent the afternoon
in the rarefied atmosphere of the tank's scaffolding enjoying the view, but worried
about the price he's have to pay for his disobedience.
At the end of
the day when everyone was safely back on the ground, Russell was willing to forget
the incident. But his father reminded him with a vigorous application of a 5/8
inch Manilla rope. Both father and son learned something that day. Russell learned
the durability of sisal hemp and Frank learned his son wasn't afraid of heights.
Soon Russell was regularly aloft, learning the (rest of the) ropes of the tank
business. |
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Rivets
and Braces
TE photo, December 2006 |
Finishing
Touches in Fayetteville
Forward
to December of 2006: Inclement November weather had prevented the application
of the final coat of silver paint on the 1929 "tin man" water of tiny Fayetteville,
Texas, population 261. The tower stood incognito in a coat of primer for nearly
a week, but in just two days, the final coat was applied - and nothing was left
to do but letter "Welcome to Fayetteville" on opposing sides of the tank. (If
you've ever been curious about the cost of silver paint for water towers - it's
a mere $72 per gallon.) |
Primed
for the final coat
TE photo, December 2006 |
| Truth
in Advertising.
Square to the right of "to" is actually a movable water level gauge.
TE photo, December 2006 |
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On
the day I visited the WTMS jobsite, the four man crew was applying the last letters
to the 'Welcome' sign. On the ground, anxious Internet subscribers were pelting
their server's representative with brickbats and groceries long past their expiration
date; demanding to know when high speed service would be available. The rep was
there to oversee the installation of an antenna (antenna installation is yet another
service provided by WTMS) for a high-speed connection. After the mob was dispersed
by the promise of a January connection date, an irate woman appeared to complain
that the tower's "integrity" had been destroyed by the antenna placement. Progress,
it seems, comes at a heavy price. |
| Fayetteville
from the newly installed Water Tower c. 1929
Square
in upper left corner
Photo courtesy Joe Babin, Fayette Realty |
| I
looked around for a welder's cap and found Russell Gaspard engaged in conversation
with Fayetteville realtor Joe Babin. Mr. Babin had a vintage photo of the town
square taken from the tower back in 1929 when it was spanking new. At Mr. Babin's
request, Russell had taken a contemporary photo from the exact same vantage point
the day before. The shot wasn't as clear as it could've been, so Russell took
the time for a second shot. |
| Fayetteville
Town Square from the water tower today
Photo courtesy Joe Babin, Fayette Realty,
June 2006
Photographer
Russell Gaspard |
Just
before Fayetteville's noon whistle didn't blow (it did up until a few years ago)
the local Internet server representative and the entire WTMS crew repaired to
Keiler's restaurant for perhaps the heartiest plate lunch in Fayette County. It
was over lunch that I got to know the crew and heard stories about water towers
from Clute to Jasper
and from Bastrop to Humble.
(WTMS operates within a 200 mile radius of Houston.)
In the same unhurried, matter-of-fact tone that he employs on the job site,
Russell did not gloat about his ironclad job security, but related that their
success in the business was not luck but "old school ways" of safety first and
attention to detail a close second.
I asked for a finger count of the
crew - the best testimonial for safety - and they came up with a full forty between
them. The constant work with cables, torches, sharp edges and rough surfaces have
produced sandpaper palms. Russell allowed that when his wife scratches his back
- she uses her fingernails - while he merely has to rub his flat palm over her
back.
But keeping track of one's digits can be the least of problems
in such a hazardous occupation. Russell told of a bad fall he once had in Montgomery
County when they were working on an aircraft hanger. The wind shifted unexpectedly
and some loose sheet plastic pulled the scaffolding down. The working height was
four-stories up. Russell landed flat on his back, but it wasn't a freefall. His
descent was slowed somewhat by being pinched between the scaffolding and a large
plate glass window. Arriving at ground-level with no broken bones but without
any air in his lungs, he was disheartened when the scaffolding came to rest on
his chest. The six-man crew strained to remove the weight, but it didn't budge
until Russell's brother came running up. With mythical strength, his brother lifted
the scaffolding from Russell's chest. The incident was written up by the local
newspaper - and Russell said that while he had boxed with his brother while growing
up, he wouldn't consider even sparing with him today. |
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If you're within a
two-hundred mile radius of Houston and have a water tank that needs cleaning,
sandblasting, purging, dismantling or painting, you'd be doing yourself a favor
by contacting Russell Gaspard and the safe, jovial, hardworking, hearty-eating
crew of Water Tank Maintenance Services.
Water Tank Maintenance Services
6321 Apache, Pasadena, Texas
713-875-1259
January 1, 2007
© John Troesser | |
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