Myself...
I think I already mention some
where
down the road, that I use to smash
cars
with my husband. We had a truck
with
a free wheeling cable wheel on the
back.
With a card table size piece of iron.
We
would raise it up and let it fall
down
on the cars.. taking about 6 times
to
flatten a car. After we got 10 to 15
cars
done.. depending on size.... we
would
load them up on the semi. My
husband
would use the same truck with
the
cable to raise the car up into the air.
We
would put a chain on each corner
of
the car, then have them join in the
middle,
which the hook from the cable
on
the truck, would hook it and up it would
go.
My
job was to make sure the car was
lined
up from side to side. Which meant
by
the time we got to the top, I would
be
standing on top of the cab of the semi.
And
if things weren't going smoothly,
well,
we would be doing this into the
night.
Using my pick up truck headlights
for
light on the semi. And I would stand
up
on of the cab of the semi, holding these
cars
bumpers, making sure it was level
and
straight and then nod my head, and
he
would lower it down. After we got
all
the cars in place, we then took
cables
and threw them over the load.
3 of
them.. hook on one side, and
wrenching
them on the other side so
that
they would scrunch down more
and
be tight. At 4am he would head
to
Seattle (we lived in Roslyn, Wa.)
and
sell the load. For $7 a ton..
When
I was reading about a year or
so
ago.. That scrap iron was going for
$700
to 900 dollars a TON.. I couldn't
believe
it.. Marv must have been rolling
in
his grave. So much work for so little.
One
of my jobs was to burn the car after
he
dropped it off at our site. He would
go
get cars from people who were junking
them
or the Chief of Police asked us to
remove
old cars from town and out in the
woods
on the border of the town, where
people
had dumped them.
We
burnt them, because it was easier to
pull
the copper wiring out of the dash
after
they were burnt.
One
day, I was doing that, as his partner
Mac
and he were bring in the cars. I had
removed
the tires off the cars and had
quite
a stack for the week. Some times
we
would sell them for a buck a piece
wheel
and tire. But a lot of times we
would
throw them in the car before we
burnt
it. But we were really hustling
as
we had to get rid of about 20 cars for
the
town. So there was the pile of tires.
I
had asked them what did they want to
do
with all those tires? (about 80 of them)
and
they said they didn't care, put them
in
the cars.
After
they left, I thought well, that is a
lot
of tires to have to pick up and throw
in
the couple cars we had to burn yet.
So
while I poured some gas on one of
the
cars near by, I ...... well... accidentally
spilt
some on the tires.. (that is my story
and
I am sticking with it) ...and the whole
pile
went up in flames...
About
5 minutes later the guys came back
with
another car. Their faces were something
to
behold. Marv asked me WHAT THE HELL?
I told him, it was easier that way.. Well, I
never
saw
him dump a car so fast and flew down the
road
out of there. See the black smoke was about
30
feet high.
About
5 minutes after they left, in comes a green
truck...
and a green fire truck. DNR... Dept. of
Natural
Resources... Lucky for me, they knew
me.. I told them what happen, about the accidental
gas
spillage... As they started to head
back to the
trucks,
they shook their heads and said.. well, don't
let
it happen again..
Obviously
this is before EPA existed or at least in
our
area. They sure ruin a fun time.. as
we couldn't
burn
cars anymore at the end.
Found
out later that I was the first car smasher.
I
actually did two loads by myself.
Marv
decided when the price dropped to $6 a ton,
he
would go to work with the semi somewhere
else
until the price came back up. But it
didn't work
out,
so he called home and said he was heading home.
I
told him I smashed a small load for Mac (his truck
was
smaller and only could take 4)... he couldn't
believe
it.. So he told me, well, then start smashing
a
load for me, I will be home in 2 days.
and I did.
In
spite of the hard work, it was a fun time.
I didn't
think
anything of it, when I was doing it.. it had to
be
done.. and I knew I could.. so I did it.
After
Marv died... I became a nurses aide for 17+
years..
not as much fun. And the funny looks
when
my employer asked what did I do for work
before..
and I said... smashed cars.. She said
one
at a
time... or for a living.. I told her
both. as you
can
only smash one at a time. lol...
