Fall 2012

Volume. 1 Issue. 3

Fall 2012 Serving Contracting Firms and the Arizona Community…Then & Now

•Poetry in Motion: Arizona’s Early Highways • Greatest Home Buy Ever Offered in Phoenix • Education Still Focus of Refurbished Emerson School •Riding to the Top of Camelback Mountain

Volume. 1 Issue. 3 Fall 2012

CONTENTS

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Established 1978

Editor’s Column: Aerial Tramways - Douglas Towne Construction Around Arizona - William Horner Poetry in Motion: Arizona’s Post-Statehood Highways -

DDI EQUIPMENT, INC 3615 S. 7ᵀᴴ Ave Tel: 602-243-5243 Phoenix, AZ, 85041 Fax: 602-276-8819

Douglas Towne

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DDI Equipment sells, rents and services high quality new and used forestry, recycling & aggregate crushing and screening equipment.

We offer exceptional product support as well as product safety training.

Education Still Focus of Emerson School Surrey Heights: Built to Last - John Bueker Arizona 811 Safety Summit Winterizing Your Business - Paul Beaulieu Building Tomorrow’s Workforce Today - Connie Corder

WOODGRINDERS

MULCHING EQUIPMENT

FORESTRY

SCREENING & CRUSHING

Digging Through the Archives: The Smith Booth Usher Company - William Horner

Publisher William Horner azcc.publisher@hotmail.com

Editor Douglas Towne azcc.editor@gmail.com

Marketing & Sales Consultant Chuck Runbeck

Advertising Barry Warner barrywarner@cox.net

Production Manager Laura Harley azcc.design@hotmail.com

Advertising

Contributors Paul Beaulieu John Bueker

602-881-0907 / 602-920-7325

View our online magazine at: www.arizcc.com Printed at Lithotech Arizona Contractor & Community (ACC) magazine is published quarterly (Spring, Summer, Fall, & Winter).

ACC is a professional publication designed for the contracting industry, engineers, architects, and others interested in Arizona and its history.

Content including text, photographs or illustrations may not be reproduced without the written permission from the publisher. The publisher does not assume responsibility for unsolicited submissions.

ACC reserves the right to reject any editorial and advertising material and assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material.

Arizona Contractor & Community Copyright © 2012 All rights reserved.

Front Cover Queen Creek Bridge on the Miami - Superior Highway, 1921.

Photograph courtesy of Elaine Hagen McBride, granddaughter of contracting pioneer Harry J. Hagen.

WWW.DDIEQUIP.COM

Arizona Contractor & Community

Editor’s Column Douglas Towne

Architecture,

construction, and wealth; the three are irretrievably linked. Those in the business of creating big ticket, awe-inspiring structures know the current global hot spots include Shanghai, China where skyscrapers sprout like desert flowers after a wet winter and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates where humans are pushing the boundaries of land reclamation in the Persian Gulf by creating palm tree-shaped islands.

In Arizona, some of the most innovative recent large construction projects are on Native American lands. For a $30 fee at the Hualapai tribe’s Sky Walk, trusting, non-acrophobic tourists can stand above the Grand Canyon with nothing but a clear glass floor between them and a 4,000-foot plummet. Completed in 2007, the $31 million dollar project uses a cantilevered system to hold up a U-shaped walkway that extends 70 feet over the canyon’s edge, seemingly without any means of support. The structure’s designers claim the viewing platform can support the weight equivalent of almost six dozen 747 jetliners and withstand the seismic forces unleashed by a nearby 8.0 magnitude earthquake.

The Navajo Nation also has dramatic plans to attract tourists to the Grand Canyon at a remote location 30 miles west-northwest of Tuba City. The tribe recently proposed a new resort hotel, shops, and cultural center called Grand Canyon Escalade at the undeveloped East Rim just northeast of the national park. An aerial tramway would ferry visitors down to a restaurant and amphitheater along the Colorado River near its confluence with the Little Colorado River. Although the tribe has signed a nonbinding agreement with a Scottsdale developer, Confluence Partners, L.L.C., whether the $120 million project will ever be built will depend on negotiations among the Navajos themselves, the Hopi Tribe, and the National Park Service. At stake is an estimated $70 million a year in revenue and 2,000 jobs to be created by the development. The economic benefits of the project, however, will be weighed against losing the sacred character and wilderness of the last undeveloped portion of the Grand Canyon.

The high water mark of aerial tramway popularity was during the 1960s. Prospectors surveyed mountains not for their mineral wealth but for their potential to attract visitors who would pay a

“Prospectors surveyed mountains not for their mineral wealth but for their potential to attract visitors who would pay a nice fee to be comfortably ferried to high places for spectacular views and overpriced food and gifts”

Four

Images courtesy of Douglas Towne

Above, left to right: Aerial tramway support structure at 15th Avenue, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Hualapai Tribe’s Sky Walk.

Opposite page: Palm-tree shaped island, Abu Dhabi, Shanghai skyline.

nice fee to be comfortably ferried to high places for spectacular views and overpriced food and gifts. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway that carries passengers up Mt. San Jacinto in California was finished in 1963 while the Sandia Peak tramway opened outside Albuquerque in 1966. In the tramway’s peak decade, there were even plans to construct one within Crater Lake National Park in Oregon that would transport visitors to Wizard Island.

Spectacular construction schemes involving cable cars to boost tourism were also proposed for the Valley. One idea was to construct an aerial tramway to a restaurant planned atop Camelback Mountain. However, the tramway’s embarkation point was to be in front of Paradise Valley businessman, Bill O’Brien’s house. Not happy about the potential impacts to his neighborhood, O’Brien formed a partnership with his friend, Russell Jackson, and purchased 56 acres on Camelback Mountain in 1967. They gave 26 acres around the summit to the city for use as a preserve, forever eliminating the possibility of construction above 1,800 feet on the mountain.

Another proposed aerial tramway would have toted passengers to a visitor’s center atop Shaw Butte, just north of Sunnyslope in the North Phoenix Mountains. In the late 1950s, mechanical whiz Richard Barker, who had operated businesses repairing everything from televisions to airplanes, built a structure on a small, flat area just below the summit of Shaw Butte. The building initially served as the Barker’s home and later, the Cloud Nine Restaurant.

Barker ferried passengers up to the restaurant by the carload along a steep road he had carved out of a hill with liberal amounts

of dynamite. He also constructed two towers on the butte that were rumored to be support structures for an aerial tramway that would transport customers up to the restaurant. One of the support structures still stands near the base of the mountain at 15th Avenue. The tower’s size makes it appear more likely it was designed to haul restaurant supplies rather than customers.

Although the restaurant was destroyed by fire in 1964, its foundation remains a popular hiking destination.

Aerial tramways are not in much demand these days, although one opened in Portland in 2006. The tramway services mostly commuters, not tourists, and is part of the city’s metropolitan transportation system and required municipal funding. Public transportation focus in Phoenix has shifted from hauling visitors up mountains to moving residents around the Valley via light rail, a project that was started before today’s tight financial budgets.

In this challenging fiscal environment, it will be interesting to see what future big ticket construction projects the Valley will become renowned for-but it won’t be aerial tramways.

Mountaintops within the city are havens for hikers and bikers and now off limits to commercial development. Rather than whisking people up to amazing vistas, the only cable connections in Phoenix these days are a different variety that allow users vicarious access to incredible worlds via the internet.

Douglas Towne

Arizona Contractor & Community

Construction Around Arizona

Construction Around Arizona Schools • Freeways • Roadways • Commercial

Right: 2501 Building at Continuum in Chandler that features precast concrete columns, beams, and double T floor framing.

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Construction Around Arizona

Sonoran Boulevard Haydon Building Corporation, Phoenix, continues construction on the new Sonoran Boulevard, north of Phoenix. The $42 million project includes 7 miles of new arterial roadway and a 5-mile shared-use path that weaves throughout the Sonoran Desert. Haydon “The biggest challenge has been the rock,� says Superintendent Keith Samples. The project calls for 68,000 tons of ABC and 59,000 tons of asphalt. The completion date is May 2013.

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New Western celebrates 15 years! ln

15

Years

the summer of 1997 while paving a job, the superintendent asked if our fuel person could fill his generator. Soaked with sweat, Phil and Richard Fox agreed that there had to be a better way of life than paving in 115 degree weather. After lengthy consideration, they sold their paving company and decided to start a business renting generators and offering a fueling service.

New Western L.L.C. was formed by Richard and Phil Fox, a family owned and operated business, and began with three generators to rent. 15 years later, their fleet consists of over 100 generators, graders, loaders, lifts, light towers, water trucks and other heavy equipment.

The firm is based in Glendale but serves the greater Phoenix area, as well as its surrounding communities.

Along with being a member of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of lndependent Business and the American Rental Association, New Western has a retail partnership with MQ-Power and Wacker-Neuson and maintains a commercial contractor's license with the AZ ROC. Since the passing of Richard in May, 2011, New Western has continued to grow and Richard would be proud knowing his son and grandsons are continuing the legacy.

Construction Around Arizona

McCarthy Construction Meets School Deadlines Top, Clockwise: Andale Construction digs a new storm drain between classrooms at Holiday Park School; Hardrock Concrete finishes a long walkway; Crane assists the installation of the new air conditioning units. Bottom:, Clockwise: With the “T” in the background, Ace Asphalt paves the north parking lot. of Thunderbird High School; Brothers Rich and Joey Ramirez (Ace Asphalt Concrete Division); painting high above is Pete King Construction; the “T” for Thunderbird High School; McCarthy Supervisors, Larry Cohen and Louis Gutierrez.

Ten

Construction Around Arizona

Schoolwork by Core Construction Top: Michael J. Valente Contracting completing driveways and sidewalks at Buckeye High School with concrete supplied by Drake Cement.

Bottom: New multi-story buildings and landscaping at Gateway College. Workers on the site are Paul deMontigny and Rick Kempton.

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Red Mountain Machinery Offers D10R and D9R Tractors Equipped with Cushion Dozers

The Cushion Blade is used for push-loading. Rubber cushions allow the dozer to absorb the impact of contacting a scraper push block. When not push-loading, the dozer can be used for cut maintenance and other general dozing jobs. The narrow width of the C-blade increases machine maneuverability in congested cuts and reduces the possibility of cutting tires associated with SU and U-blades

Transport costs are also reduced by eliminating blade and push arm removal requirements in moving the tractor from job to job.

Arizona Hi-Lift

(602) 462-1315 830 South 23rd Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85009

Poetry in Motion: Arizona’s Post-Statehood Highways Douglas Towne We assume that just because there is a line on a map, it means that there’s a road capable of transporting vehicles no matter what the weather. But what if the line is on a highway map published by the State Engineer in 1914?

Motoring across Arizona after statehood was for the adventurous; bad weather would do more than spoil a picnic. Of the few highways that existed, the roads were nothing more than dirt tracks with poor grading and drainage that became impassable with rain. On maps, these paper pathways reflected the best intentions of civic boosters and cartographers. But in reality, the roads were primitive and hindered effective transportation. Over the next dozen years, however roads in the state would show marked improvement.

The roadway evolution in Arizona started slowly; by 1916 there was still not a single mile of concrete or asphalt highway in the state, according to Arizona Transportation History, a report commissioned by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Moreover, comprehensive highway planning was a challenge. Of the modest amount of funds the Arizona Legislature raised for highway improvements, 75 percent was provided to counties, leaving the Arizona Highway Department with control over where only 25 percent of the budget was spent.

Potential new revenue sources, such as a $5 million bond issue proposed in 1914 by the Arizona Good Roads Association to fund highway construction, were defeated by voters. The department was forced to use creative means to stretch their thin funding, including briefly hiring prisoners as road workers. Projects like the 1913 Tempe Bridge and roads linking Phoenix and Tempe and Bisbee to Tombstone were constructed using convict labor.

During this early period of the state’s history, the few crosscountry highways through Arizona were known by their names and marked by private road associations. The highways were a piecemeal chain of roads constructed and maintained to different standards by various government entities. The road associations, in conjunction with the towns and counties along their routes, coordinated efforts to erect road signs identifying the path and mileage of the routes, publish road guides, and promote travel along the highways. Although the roads lacked superior construction quality, their names succeeded in evoking feelings of nostalgia and heritage.

In 1914, there were five named roads across Arizona. Crossing the state from east to west was the National Old Trails Highway, the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, the Roosevelt Dam Highway, and the Borderland Highway. The Grand Canyon-Nogales Highway ran north-south. The National Old Trails Highway carried the most traffic and would survive until the establishment of the federal highway system in the mid-1920s. All the other named east-west roads quickly faded into obscurity before 1920, either abandoned as routes or incorporated into other private road associations including the Dixie Overland Highway, the Bankhead Highway, and the Lee Highway.

With the increasing popularity of the auto, however, a gamechanging undertaking was urgently needed to improve highways and it arrived with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916.

The public works legislation mandated the federal government to set technical standards for highway design and provide construction funds to all states. In turn, the states were required to match any federal aid received.

Image courtesy of www.treasurenet.com

“Motoring across Arizona after statehood was for the adventurous; bad weather would do more than spoil a picnic”

Sixteen

“During this early period of the state’s history, the few cross-country highways through Arizona were known by their names and marked by private road associations.”

Top to bottom: First auto to cross the Queen Bridge between Superior and Miami; Site of Queen Creek Tunnel; Rock work near Queen Creek Tunnel; all images 1921.

Image courtesy of Bob Fisher

Opposite page left to right: Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Bridge, Yuma, AZ; Camp Montezuma, Phoenix, AZ.

Images Courtesy of Elaine Hagen McBride

By 1920, Arizona had constructed 335 miles of permanent roads that included the state’s first stretches of asphalt or concrete roadways, according to Arizona Transportation History. These included sections of the Bisbee-Douglas road, the National Old Trails Highway through Flagstaff and Winslow, the Tucson-Florence highway and the Tucson-Nogales highway.

The longest section of pavement was the highway through the Salt River Valley from Mesa to Buckeye, on which converged the Lee, Bankhead, Dixie Overland, and the Grand CanyonNogales highways.

Despite the progress initiated by the new federal legislation, the Act overlooked an important requirement; that new state highways be connected to each other in a system that efficiently served long-distance motorists. In 1921, the Act was amended to require that each state designate seven percent of its highway system as part of a national network that would receive first priority for federal funding.

Initially, Arizona’s seven-percent system consisted of trying to improve the named, cross-country highways to a point where travelers could average 30 miles per hour. Despite the accelerated spending, in 1924 only 12 percent of the state’s 1,453 miles of highways were paved (mostly in and around towns), 50 percent were surfaced with gravel, and 38 percent were unimproved.

Another major step occurred in 1925 when, according to national guidelines, each of the state’s highways was assigned a unique number. The east-west roads received even numbers and north-south numbers were assigned odd numbers. The National Old Trails Highway was initially designated U.S. Route 60 and later changed to U.S. Route 66. To the south, the Lee-Bankhead-Dixie Overland highways became U.S. Route 80.

The northern branch of the Lee Highway was to become U.S. Route 70 and the Grand Canyon-Nogales Highway would become U.S. Route 89.

The signs of reconfigured federal highways were marked with a shield while state highways were demarcated with an outline of Arizona. All previous signs placed by private highway associations and local governments were removed. The speed and efficiency of motoring in Arizona were on the upswing but lost were the homespun names and markers denoting the birth of cross country auto travel in the Southwest.

Arizona Contractor & Community

Images courtesy of ADM Group Inc

Education Still Focus of Refurbished Emerson School The original Emerson Elementary School opened in the fall of 1921

a variety of administrative and support functions.

With the passing of the 2010 Bond, administrators at Phoenix on the southeast corner of 7th Street and Palm Lane. Phoenix was booming! Street cars were being replaced by automobiles. A Elementary School District No. 1 planned for major renovations brand-new band stand flourished in Library Park and Phoenix’s including re-roofing, major HVAC replacement, site modifications,installation of energy controls, and interior population was approximately 29,000. modifications to keep up with the District’s growing demands.

Emerson School was one of the first buildings built in the “new In 2011, the District hired a local architectural firm, ADM style” to match its surrounding neighborhoods of single-story homes. As the city grew, Emerson School required more space to Group, Inc., and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. to implement accommodate increasing enrollment. In 1925, 1927, and 1936, the necessary upgrades. The ADM Group worked diligently with additions to the little red brick building on 7th Street were the City’s Historic Preservation Department to ensure that even completed. The school was built of red brick with a red tile roof though the entire roof structure, including original wooden trusses, and large encasement windows, factors which eventually led to its had to be replaced, all would be done in accordance with Historic Preservation requirements. nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1982, the original Emerson School was closed and a new Emerson School was built just east of the original location. The original school was subsequently leased commercially to a variety of office users. Emerson School became Emerson Court. Eventually, Phoenix Elementary School District No. 1, the owners of Emerson Court, took the building back and converted it to the main District Office which still houses

Construction began in Phases with the south wing being Phase One, north wing Phase Two, and two-story center building Phase Three. The District’s new Governing Board will be located in the exact location of the original auditorium of Emerson School.

Several of the interior historic features have been preserved and/or replicated.

From top- left to right: Original Emerson School photo viewed from 7th Street.

Original Emerson School after 1925 and 1927 additions.

Phase one demolition.

Phase two demolition.

Right: Completed phase one interior courtyard.

Bottom left: Phase one completion, view from 7th Street.

Images courtesy of ADM Group Inc

Surrey Heights: Built to Last John Bueker T

area. The remote parcel of real estate would not be annexed by the city of Phoenix until 1962. Surrey Heights and its sister, Westown development, were considered so far north of town at the time that the wisdom of the developers was questioned.

However, the homes in Surrey Heights were priced to sell: the 3 and 4-bedroom models ran from $10,990 to $14,500, and home buyers received an excellent value for their money. Five different floor plans were originally available, including The Newport, The Fairmont, The Gramercy, and The Savoy. All models featured attractive amenities including a lifetime cedar shake roof, enclosed garage, and built-in GE oven, range, and disposal. No fewer than 20 different facades were designed for the homes, lending an exceptional richness and variety to the architectural style of the new development.

The Surrey Heights subdivision shared two important community resources with the Westown homes to the south: Sahuaro Elementary School and Westown Shopping City. Given the relatively remote location of the two developments, the local grade school and shopping center were vital elements in conferring a sense of community and identity to the emerging area. In addition, the General Electric plant east of Surrey Heights on the Black Canyon Freeway provided an excellent source of employment for nearby residents. Together, these institutions allowed the Surrey Heights-Westown oasis in the desert to thrive.

Construction of Surrey Heights Phase I commenced in the summer of 1960 and would approach completion the following year. By July of 1960, the builders were already hosting a series of “grand opening” events in the cul-de-sac at 3200 West Thunderbird Road, where the subdivision’s office and model homes were situated. The promotions emphasized family entertainment, with clowns, food, prizes, and a hot-air passenger balloon to entice prospective home buyers. Advertisements for

Images courtesy of John Bueker

“ he greatest home buy ever offered in Phoenix.”

Such was the sales pitch served up by Steves Brothers home builders in the summer of 1960 for their newly-minted Surrey Heights residential subdivision. While that grandiose claim was probably a little over the top, there was unquestionably some degree of truth to it. The houses of Surrey Heights were attractively designed, well made, and reasonably priced. Few other local builders of the day were offering homes of similar value.

The Surrey Heights story began with three brothers from Buckeye, Arizona – Jim, Leon, and George Steves. In 1955, they formed Steves Brothers Construction Company and migrated to Flagstaff to pursue their dream of becoming home builders. Over the next decade, Steves Brothers would build over 1,000 homes in Flagstaff, Winslow, and Phoenix, beginning with Pine Park Manor and Greenlaw Estates in east Flagstaff.

Interestingly, Steves Brothers employed the same home building formula and materials when crafting their homes in sunny Phoenix as they did in the much cooler and more rugged climate of Flagstaff. As a result, the houses in Surrey Heights were rigorously constructed from high quality building materials and fitted with extensive amounts of insulation. “The homes on Joan De Arc Avenue were built to last,” observes long-time resident Barbara Bueker Stewart. “And that they have.”

The builders chose an unincorporated patch of land beyond the outskirts of northwest Phoenix for the Surrey Heights development, south of Thunderbird Road and west of 31st Avenue. Surrounded on all sides by fields, the homes of Surrey Heights were constructed beyond the edge of the metropolitan

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Images courtesy of John Bueker

“The greatest home buy ever offered in Phoenix”

the events appeared in a series of Sunday editions of the Arizona Republic.

The hot-air passenger balloon acquired by Jim Steves was fated to become a legendary part of the Surrey Heights saga. Kathryn Willis, daughter of Jim Steves, and herself a home builder for many years, tells a remarkable story about the balloon that became part of family lore.

One afternoon during the Surrey Heights grand opening festivities, the passenger balloon escaped its moorings and slipped off into the ether, à la The Wizard of Oz. Fortunately unoccupied at the time, the balloon drifted east across state lines, was allegedly reported as a UFO, and was shot down over Oklahoma. Ms. Willis believes the story “might be a little exaggerated,” but given the collective paranoia of the early Cold War era, the tale sounds plausible. In any event, the Surrey Heights hot-air passenger balloon was never heard from again.

Inevitably, Surrey Heights was expanded upon by a series of additions over the ensuing decade. Steves Brothers initiated the building of Surrey Heights Phase II in early 1962, shortly after the completion of Phase I, extending the neighborhood from Willow

Avenue south to Sweetwater Avenue and the northern terminus of the Westown neighborhood. Ultimately, a half-dozen phases of Surrey Heights would be built around the original subdivision by various developers, ending with the completion of Phase VI in 1971.

Today, the Surrey Heights subdivision remains a vibrant community no longer perched beyond the dusty frontiers of Phoenix suburbia. Once a lonely outpost on the fringes of the city, the neighborhood has long since become part of the sprawling Valley megalopolis.

If one looks closely enough though, a few remnants of the original neighborhood landscape remain. A handful of those “lifetime cedar shake roofs” still sprinkle the neighborhood, and a significant number of those original GE ovens and stoves are still in operation 50 years later. The Steves’ unique architectural vision remains quite vivid, despite all manner of remodeling done to the homes throughout the years, an overlooked and underrated achievement. Their work endures.

Surrey Heights stands as a tribute to a visionary home builder and a bygone era when quality and craftsmanship still mattered as much as time and profit.

Editor’s Note: Since this article was written, the last few shaker roofs in Surrey Heights have been replaced.

Opposite page: Advertisement for Surrey Heights, from The Arizona Republic, July 24, 1960;. First phase concrete stamp, Elmer Shelton 1961; Carl Bueker’s Surrey Heights home with cedar shake roof, 1964; Carl Bueker’s Surrey Heights home, 2012.

Top: A home in Surrey Heights 2012.

Left: Plot map for Surrey Heights, April 1960.

Arizona Contractor & Community

Arizona 811 Safety Summit: Incident Investigation – provided an excellent location to reenact this type of incident as well as how a damaged natural gas facility is handled by emergency the 5th anniversary year of the implementation of 811, Arizona’s responders and repair crews.

811 stakeholders celebrated with a new twist by hosting an 811 Safety Summit that uncovered the ins and outs of incident The After: investigation.

The Arizona Blue Stake Public Services Committee is comprised of representatives from utility companies throughout the state The Target & Mission: dedicated to providing almost three dozen highly renowned Safety and Risk Managers of area construction and utility damage prevention seminars annually to more than 2,200 people companies are highly knowledgeable in the area of damage statewide. This pool of risk management professionals formed a prevention. Sure they know about the need to call 811 to avoid panel of incident investigators to present the process of incident damaging utilities, but what happens when they unfortunately hit investigation along with helpful tips for attendees. Afterward, a utility? What steps can they take to support an investigation those in attendance indicated they also appreciated the protecting themselves or prevent it from happening again? opportunity to network with the very investigators that could show The day’s events began with key note speaker and One Calls up at their jobsite as a result of an incident. of America spokesperson, Cliff Meidl, who spoke of his injuries as a result of hitting 3 unmarked, underground electric cables and The Enforcement: his journey to becoming a two-time Olympian. Personalizing In addition to the utility incident investigators, the Supervisor of damage prevention took it one step further and allowed the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Office of Pipeline Safety (the audience to realize the domino effect of a single incident. It agency that enforces Arizona’s Blue Stake law) presented the became very clear that many more people in addition to the direct department’s approach to accident investigation. Attendees were victim are significantly impacted by any incident that occurs. educated on what to look for from the perspective of the The remaining Summit was divided into three 50-minute enforcement officer and using industry best practices to develop sessions where attendees where provided demonstrations of the their case. before and after of utility damage incidents.

The 811 Safety Summit was designed to go beyond the promotion safe digging within the construction community. While The Before: calling 811 is a vital start to preventing damaged utilities, This session was presented in two parts: Locating 101: Corporate communication and working together is crucial when incidents trainers from ELM Utility Locating demonstrated best practices in happen. With proper tools and planning in place, any company locating as well as how a locate description provided by the can be ready for unexpected obstacles in the field. excavator on a ticket impacts how the locator responds.

The event was highlighted in an Arizona Republic article that Directional Bore Gone Wrong: Southwest Gas training was published on Sunday, August 12th (circulation of 1.1 million – personnel presented this demonstration in their EMRF (Emergency print & online) as well as in the Tucson Citizen (circulation of Response Facility) within the Southwest Gas campus in Tempe, 223,000 online).

Arizona. This, being the sister facility to the Southwest Gas EMRF facility in Las Vegas as – showcased at the 2012 CGA Conference

August 11th is a signature day in our industry. This year, during

Images courtesy of Courtnie Hartwigson

Winterizing Your Business Paul Beaulieu

Paul is currently a project manager at Ace Asphalt of Arizona Inc. and is a member of the American Mensa Society where he serves as Membership Officer for the Greater Phoenix Area.

Winter is almost upon us and if you have ever lived in the northern United States or have a comfy cabin in Northern Arizona then you know the importance of preparing for winter. Time to clean out the refrigerator, put the toys in the garage and drain all the water from the pipes. Planning ahead will ensure an enjoyable spring and failure to do so will result in costly and tiresome repairs. Similarly, wise owners realize the seasonality of their businesses and plan for winterization. A well thought through strategy on how to handle the natural expansion and contraction of the market profits companies and employees alike. So what are some of the key factors in adapting for seasonal downtime?

If you want to launch with minimal effort in the spring, then you will need to retain your key personnel through the winter months. The two questions to answer here are, "Who are the key team members and how will they be retained?

Seniority is an important factor in identifying key team members. But is it everything? The old dogs would like you to think so, however, ability and attitude are also important to consider. That grey stud was once a young bronco and

, wise y l r a l i “Sim he t e z i l a re s r e n w e ir o h t f o y t a li s e a s o n s a n d pl a n sse n� bu s i n e o i t a z i r te for win

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many people have held on to old nags well past their prime. At one company I actually worked with a blind blademan who I had to give verbal commands to while making sure I did not get rolled up in a windrow.) At the same time, betting the farm on a new pony may backfire if he decides to jump the fence for a handful more grain in the summer. The most important thing is to create your own written criteria, plan for who to retain and do it as early as possible.

The next question to answer is "How will I retain the talent?" Can you shift these employees to parts of your company that do not experience the winter slowdown? Do you have professional training and certifications they can complete? Can they cross train with office personnel or other divisions of the company to gain a better understanding your business? Remember to include your key players in answering these questions. They may have insights into what they can do to add value and prepare for the next upturn.

There are also equipment resources to consider in winterizing. The fighter that starts training on the day of the fight will loose to the better prepared opponent. Consider auditing equipment and creating a fix it, sell it or buy it list. Perform all that maintenance that you did not have time for during the peak season. Perhaps this maintenance is something those retained team members can busy themselves with, and when they return to their primary job functions they will know their tools inside and out.

Each company is different so every leader will need to assess his own business to determine how best to handle the seasonal lull. The only certain way to fail is to not plan at all. So start now, involve your key personnel and set your team up for success.

H E M

Heavy Equipment Machinery, Inc

New & Manufactured hydraulic systems repaired in house

We stock heat treated cutting edges for all makes and models

800-385-8556 Phoenix 22019 N 23rd Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85027 Phone : 623-879-6608

Building Tomorrow’s Workforce Today

The National Utility Contractors of Arizona (NUCA AZ) was formed in 1975 to represent the interests of Utility, Contractor, Vendor and Agency members who are involved in underground utilities in our state. We monitor issues and serve on multiple industry committees in an advocacy capacity.

We foster communication between our different member types, provide safety training, advise on regulations and keep our members informed of pending changes that will affect them in the field, jobsite regulation and in their bottom line profitability.

Connie Corder Executive Director connie@nucaaz.org 602.540.1767 www.nucaaz.org

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Having identified the need for a viable way to increase the number of skilled workers in our industry that would be the leaders of tomorrow, a group of four people pioneered the idea for the first Construction Career Day. This pilot program took place March 2-5, 1999 in Lewisville, Texas thanks to the vision and dedication of a handful of people that saw a need and decided to do something about it.

That program quickly grew through the backing of the Federal Highway Administration and came to Arizona in 2002 through the local chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). Since then it has grown into an independent non-profit that brings together many public and private entities to benefit our community. They partnered with the Army National Guard and have held the event at their facility for the past ten years. The Guard has stated that their motivation is to embrace and support the community that they live and work in.

The career day event provides hands on interaction between Arizona high school students and a variety of trades without regard to race or gender to aid in promoting diversity in the workforce.

One of their success stories is of a candidate that attended with her high school. Through her experience at the event and being the top scorer in her class in the Think Big Program, Tashina Forsen was hired by Empire-Cat and is currently a Training Instructor for them. Empire prides itself in hiring, promoting, and investing development resources for women and the military.

In addition to the hands on experience, the attendees are also provided a publication with

information on trade descriptions, Arizona Trade Associations, an industry earnings matrix, apprenticeship programs, vocational education, and higher education programs.

“Arizona Construction Career Days is a passion of mine as President of the Association for Construction Career Development. Our association will continue to be a facilitator working with our community partners in the construction industry, the Arizona Department of Education, Arizona Army National Guard, Federal Highways and the Arizona Department of Transportation. We stand by our mission statement: To support and promote the construction industry through educations and employment!” - Rose Ann Canizales, President, AZ Construction Career Days There have been more than 280 exhibitor displays and 300 pieces of equipment to date and each year has had about 1000-1500 student in attendance. They feel that public-private partnerships remain central to the Construction Career Days concept and to the vision and mission of the Association for Construction Career Development. Also, it is in working together and sharing information among the many industry partners that the construction industry is effectively promoted to America’s youth and the workforce of the 21st Century is developed.

Their next event takes place on October 4th-5th.

To get involved contact Rose Ann directly at rcanizales@g-impactinc.com. www.azccd.com

Public Auction held the 2nd Saturday of every month.

Preview Every Monday – Friday 8am – 4pm.

Consignments Welcome.

Western Sales Management, Inc

623-936-3300

1616 S 67th Ave.

Wsmauctioneers.com

Phoenix, AZ 85043

Wsmauctionbiz@yahoo.com

The Smith Booth Usher Company: Former Machinery Giants As a native of Arizona, I have driven by the defunct Smith Booth Usher Company building on Grand Avenue multiple times unaware to its significance or even of the company’s existence. Research led me to discover the company was one of the largest equipment distributors of machinery and heavy equipment in the West.

The Smith Booth Usher Company was founded in the 1890s and was well known throughout the country for bringing the latest models of machinery and equipment to Arizona. The company was incorporated in 1911 after a merger with S.J. Smith Machine Co. and L.Booth & Sons, California.

Located south of McDowell Road at 1756 Grand Avenue, the original Smith Booth Usher Company building is still in use, though it’s front facade is sealed as the new occupiers, the Craft Master Sign Company, use the back entrance. The Smith Booth Usher Company moved to this location in 1939 to offer contractors mining machinery, machine tools, and woodworking equipment.

In the spring of 1939, the Smith Booth Usher Company became a distributor for the Cleveland Trencher Company and carried their line of trenchers, ditchers, back-fillers, pipe layers, tampers, and trailers, forcing the firm to introduce a 180-page catalog to list its vast line of products and services .

Left: The Craft Master Sign Corporation currently occupies the building.

Bottom: The new office and display room along Grand Avenue in 1939. At the right of the building is an early shovel in the equipment yard. The last known record of the company’s Arizona operation was in the early 1950s.

Twenty eight

Two vintage ads displaying the Austin-Western “99” and the many attachments available for the operator including “hydraulics” - and that was 75 years ago!

Note from the Publisher If you find our magazine interesting and enjoyable, please do us a favor and tell the businesses who advertise in the magazine that you appreciate their support of this quarterly publication.

If it was not for our advertisers, this magazine would not be possible.

Please let them know that you appreciate them!

We at Arizona Contractor & Community magazine strive to provide in depth coverage of current and pastbuilt projects, firms, and people in the construction industry. Our limited staff works tirelessly to bring you articles and images that document the expansion of our state’s infrastructure.

To keep this material flowing, we ask for your support.

We invite you to contact us with current article material, old stories, information, tips, photographs, or anything which could help educate readers on construction activity in Arizona and its growth through the years. We want to continue to make this publication a vital trade source for you and your firm.

William “Billy” Horner Publisher

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Ace Asphalt………………………………………………. p.19 American Rental Association……………………. p. 14 Arizona Desert Brooms………………..…………… p.9 Arizona Hi-Lift…………………………………………… p.15 Arizona Materials……………………..…..…………. p.30 Atlas Copco…………………………………..………….. p.19 Bidadoo Auctions……………………………..………. p.9 Branco Machinery…………………………………….. p.31 CRSI Inc.………………………………………….………… p.14 DDI Equip Inc…………………………………..……….. p.3 Direct Sales LLC………………………………..………. p.15 Doosan……………………………………………..………. p.22 ECCO Heavy Equip Rentals……………….……….. p.15 Empire Machinery…………………………………….. p.2 Heavy Equip Machinery Inc…………….…………. p.25 New Western Rentals………………………………… p.25 O’brien Concrete Pumping..………………………. p.22 PacWest Rentals ……………………………..………… p.7 Red Mountain Machinery.…………………………. p.13,32 Sunstate Equip Co……………………………………… p.11 Tempe Crane & Rigging……………………………… p.25 WSM Auctioneers……………………………………… p. 27

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