It’s a hot August morning inside Glen’s Welding, a 4,500-square-foot steel building full of cutting, bending and welding machinery near downtown Temple. Sweat washes down 49-year-old Jim Shawstad’s face. His T-shirt is soaked. Sparks fly from the business end of the metal inert gas welder that he is using to build a trailer hitch.
It’s people like Shawstad that owner Glen Raabe depends on. Every day.
“They are what keeps you going. You don’t have good employees, you don’t survive,” said Raabe.
Working at Glen’s Welding, workers have to be versatile. They configure steel banisters, modify work truck bodies, and even built a video tower for the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Shawstad said he likes his job because, “It’s something new every day.”
‘The queen of laundry’
Shirley Hopkins, grandmother of 17, never gets ahead in her job at the Hilton Garden Inn in South Temple. She washes, drys and folds about 3,500 pounds of sheets, towels and linens daily. Been doing it since the hotel opened five years ago.
“It never ends,” she said, folding bath towels with a karate chop motion. “It just keeps coming.”
General manager Eyal Kaczur said Ms. Hopkins is quick with a joke, but embodies the work ethic that keeps the hotel running smoothly. Never late and never absent.
“We value what each person brings to the table each and every day,” Kaczur said. “Without Shirley, the housekeepers can’t do their job. That one individual keeps that cycle going. She’s the queen of laundry, this is her domain.”
Molten steel
Workers at Delta Centrifugal in North Temple Industrial Park are pouring molten steel - 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit - into tube-like molds. The spinners are turned on, and the molds, which weigh up to 7,000 pounds, spin at 1,800 rpms, slinging the steel against the mold walls. About 15 minutes later, you have a new piece of steel pipe. After several more steps, including marking and heat treating, you have a piece of steel pipe that could be shipped anywhere in the world.
Danny Anders, 39, has worked at Delta for 11 years. He is in charge of keeping this cavernous foundry running. From problems with the office air conditioning, to repairing monster ovens, he and his crew have to keep things humming 24-7, even Christmas.
Adam Runk is a coordinator and purchaser who works directly with Anders. He said Anders is an invaluable cog in the wheel at this plant that employs 130.
“We got to melt the metal ... cast the metal, heat treat it, cut it, pack it, and ship it. Everybody plays a key part,” Runk said. “But one of the most integral parts of the whole process is the maintenance of the equipment.”
A Belton High graduate, Anders said he likes his job because it’s exciting and challenging.
“It’s always busy. Every day there’s something new to fix. It keeps you interested. You definitely got to use some physical stamina. It’s real hot. It’s dirty. Things going on. People are always moving. You got to know how everything flows.”
Temple Economic Development Corp.
According to TEDC president Lee Peterson, Temple’s diverse work force includes a myriad of occupations: Manufacturing, processing, back office operations, telecommunications, warehousing, distribution, logistics, health and life sciences, technology software development, service and support.
The origin of Labor Day
According to the Library of Congress, 10,000 workers marched in a parade on the first Labor Day in New York City, Sept. 5, 1882.
Peter J. McGuire, a carpenter and labor union leader, suggested American workers should be honored with their own day, and earlier that year proposed the holiday to New York’s Central Labor Union. The holiday was soon moved to the first Monday in September. In 1894, Congress passed legislation making Labor Day a national holiday.
