The Alchemist
The company that was building the Alaska pipeline has just finished constructing a large campsite in Livengood. My friend Don had secured work there and I really wanted to work there as well. We went up to the site and met with the general manager. This Texan had a strong southern drawl, said that there was an opening for someone to run the wastewater treatment plant. I told him that no one was more qualified than me particularly with my biologist background. He gave me the job and afterward he walked me over to the facility. As we were looking down at a 15 foot deep cylindrical tank filled with crystal clear water he threw a quarter in it and said to me that my job is to make sure that this can be seen each and every day. The treatment plant was the most modern system available and it consisted of a large pool that was segmented into 4 pools. I had a small chemistry laboratory and I learned to mix the chemicals in small scale and titrate up to the larger pools. I felt like an Alchemist as I turned raw sewage into clear water that was sent back to the environment with the highest quality. There were many environmental scientists from the State of Alaska that checked the facility regularly and they had the power to shut the camp down if I was not successful. This was another challenging job. Don’ s goldmine was not far away from the campsite so we chose to stay in two of the cabins there and have some ongoing parties. It was quite a bit of fun over a few months.
A mega road trip
The other time spent in Alaska usually involved working in construction for a private contractor with my friend Don. During the winter months, I would travel back to New Jersey, California or elsewhere. My other very close friend Dick Logan was in New Jersey. One year, Dick was working construction and he invited me to his uniquely situated worksite in New York City. We arrived at the site and walked into a very small elevator that went 600 feet below Manhattan into a tunnel that was being built for transporting water from upstate New York. At the bottom of the shaft was a train that we hopped on. Dick was the train driver and he and other workers were called Sandhogs. He drove us quite a way towards the front of the tunnel where there were two drilling machines that were actively penetrating the rock while it generated substantial noise and dust. After a few hours of this, everyone, including the drill operators, jumped on the train as it drove backwards for miles until it was parked under a steel reinforced section that appeared to be designated for meals. With some warning, they set off the dynamite that filled the holes that were recently drilled. The blasts were sequential and we could hear very loud bang, bang, bang. Then all of a sudden, giant smoke rings shot past us and went deep into the tunnel. This was sensational to see as I wasn’ t expecting it.
I had convinced my buddy Dick to travel back to Alaska with me. We contacted a car transport
Dick Logan Train Driver, New York City Photo by Barry Epstein
Train Ride, Deep under NYC, Photo by Dick Logan
BARRY STEVEN EPSTEIN- PhotoAutobiography DRAFT 34 of 156