PAGE 2 — WEST CHAVEN HIGHLIGHTS — JULY 7, 1988
Peep Holes To
Mother Nature
This rural scene is no longer a
part of the countryside in the
North Carolina Piedmont. It now
rests under water at the bottom
of Jordan Lake. The photo was
taken in 1974, before the state be
gan building the lake. Hollies'
had been abandoned in the grea
in preparation for the construc
tion, and the property became
fair game for revelers and target
shooters. (Ric Carter photo)
Eastern
Echoes
By
Gail Roberson
Barringer From Page 1
When asked by an antliropologist what the Indians called
America before the wliite man came, an Indian said simply
"ours.”
In the emotional celebration this week of our.freedom and
independence, I am caught up in yet another great emotion, of
guilt. Too many of ns throughout the years, have unfortunate
ly, had the same opinion as John Wayne, who once stated: “I
don’t feel we did wrong in taking this country away from
them. There were great numbers of people who needed new
land, and the Indians were selfishly tyring to keep it for them
selves.”
Selfishly? I wonder what word we would use to describe
ourselves today if suddenly the Russians tried to come here to
settle and claim our land? I wonder. Selfish? I think not. We
would defend, in every possible way, what we have guarded
with blood, sweat and tears for all this time. And we would call
it honor. And pride. Just like the Indians did. The first Amer
icans. The ones who lost in the battle for freedom and liberty.
I have always been concerned about our role in the destruc
tion of this native heritage. Part of it lies in my strong feelings
that, even though I believe destiny helped establish what has
become the United States of America, I find it hard to accept
what destiny has done to the fate of the Indian.
Another reason is my own Indian heritage. Like Will Rogers
once said: “My folks didn’t come over on the Mayflower, but
they were there to meet the boat.” I cannot help but be torn
emotionally over what this great land has become, and what
this great land once was. As a child, and even now, I root for
the Indians against the cavalry in the films about the Old West.
It seems so unfair that when the cavalry wins, it’s a great
victory. Yet. when the Indians win, it’s a massacre.
Today we load our soldiers onto planes and ships to go
forward in the battle for freedom in other parts of the world.
We fight for freedom, yet accumulate laws to take it away from
ourselves right here at home. We rattle our chains to show that
we are free.
Occasionally, well uncover bits and pieces of Indian pottery
or an arrowhead in our fields. It makes us remember who was
her first, who w'c stripped of freedom and liberty. Someday,
someone will dig up a preseiwed remnant made of plastic or
Corningware, aiui remember, who they stripped of freedome
and liberty. Do you ever think of that? Do you think they will
have any guilt as to what they took from us? Did we have guilt
as to what we took from the Indians?
Yes. this week we'll watch our colors flying amid bursts of
fireworks and strains of the national anthem. And we’ll be
proud. Like we should be. Of a land that is great and good. And
free. But never free of the guilt.
The real craftsman in the trade
constantly monitor their
charges, trying to stop problems
almost before they start. Many
major mechanical disasters can
be averted by just some extra
care and attention from the oiler,
Brehm says. If an oiler spots a
growing problem that he or she
cannot fix, then they can alert the
mechanic before the glitch
causes serious damage. “A lub
rication man is actually the eyes
and ears of the maintenance de
partment,” Brehm feels.
Barringer often proves that old
saying right, as he quietly pedals
among the 40 to 50 pieces of
machinery that he will inspect in
a shift. If one wrong "ping”
reaches his ears or he sights an
unexpected pool of oil, then Bar
ringer pulls to a stop. He tracks
the factory floor gremlins like a
well trained bloodhound, using
his senses and his knowl^ge of
the machinery to follow the signs
to their source. Brehm and other
General officials express amaze
ment that Barringer can diffe
rentiate such subtle warnings
flrom the routine noises, odors,
and workings that permeate the
tire-making process.
But to Barringer, it is all a mat
ter of concentration. "You’ve got
to keep conscious of your
machinery at all times,” Barrin
ger says, adding that being an oil
er is not a job for day dreamers.
"It’s a job where you can’t put off
doing something either,” he says.
In the world of high speed pro
duction, when a part needs oil
ing, it needs it now. Someone
who sees that the lubricant level
in a tire machine is getting low,
but decides to catch it the next
time around, may come back to
find some busted gears and a
crowd of fuming production
workers.
His combination of skills and
abilities earned Barringer an
Outstanding Master Craftsman
award from the North Carolina
Department of Labor in 1987. He
has received particular recogni
tion for his work with the mas
sive calender machines in the
plant. ’The three-story tall giants
coat various fabric sheets with a
smooth, thin rubber coating. The
rubberized fabric is used to help
make the inner layers of radial
tires.
Although the machines are big,
they require delicate care, parti
cularly from their oiler. Some
parts need to be checked and
greased about every two hours.
Tremendous heat builds in them
as the fabric becomes coated,
and a neglectful oiler can cause a
$4,000 set of protective dust rings
to be destroyed in an afternoon.
Barringer must carry at least
seven basic lubricants with him
at all times, not counting the
more exotic oils and greases that
some machines crave. The print
outs indicate which machines
need their scheduled mainte
nance that day. All during this
routine duty, of course, he keeps
his senses sharp as he pedals
through the machinery, piping,
and conveyor belts.
Expert oilers, like Barringer,
earn salaries which refiect the
importance of keeping machin
ery in good running condition.
He makes about $31,000 a year,
not counting over-time, which
often raises the figure to around
$40,000.
He works during the plant’s
main shift, concentrating his
time on General's power house
area and machine repair shop.
Several oilers work in other sec
tions of the factory, since it is too
big for any one person to cover so
much territory, Barringer, like
most workers at General, be
longs to Local 850 of the United
Rubber Workers union.
Although he is now an acknow
ledged master craftsman in
heavy industry, Barringer grew
up on a diary farm in rural Cabar
rus County. While his parents
raised cattle, they also gave him
his first lessons in working with
machinery. “It was very impor
tant to maintain our equipment,”
he recalls, “my parents taught
me what to look for and to do the
job right.”
Those vital early lessons
ignited an interest in working
with machines that Barringer
pursued in high school by taking
several vocational education
classes. He later attended a com
munity college for a year before
beginning his construction job.
Today, Barringer sees himself
as a lubrication specialist and a
tire maker. He takes pride in
General's products and the high
quality radial tires that leave the
plant. He points out that auto
mobile producers Ford and
General Motors have both given
the factory their highest grading
for a parts supplier. The tires
appear as original equipment in
both car lines.
The factory normally produces
about 24,000 thousand tires a
day. But when it set a new pro
duction record recently, Barrin
ger’s excitement was as great as
any manager’s in the plant. “I feel
like I had a part in making that
happen,” he says, “because my
machines ran.”
Working with volatile liquids
and powerful motors at the same
time, has also made Barringer
very conscientious about follow
ing, and encouraging others to
follow, good industrial safety
procedures. He does not hesitate
to shut down a machine if he
feels there is any chance his oils
could be ignited while he works
around its motor.
This interest in safety carries
over to his personal life. He is
actively involved in a volunteer
fire department near his home in
concoid. "I just like helping my
fellow man,” he says about his
volunteer fire fighting duties. He
lives in Concoid with his wife,
Becky, and they have one
daughter.
When he is not at the fire sta
tion or spending time with his
family, Barringer likes to tinker
in his own workshop or get some
exercise from cutting firewood, a
habit he started many years ago.
For those interest^ in follow
ing his footsteps in the oiler’s
trade, Barringer recommends
just getting some basic familiar
ity with oils and their properties.
As fewer people learn to work on
their own cars or even have a
chance to work with grease, in an
increasingly service economy
world, he feels that fewer young
people will understand the job’s
importance.
“People now are not used to
dealing with oils and lubricants,”
he says. Companies will have to
turn to more intensive job train
ing programs based in their fac
tories and plants, if they want to
have another generation of skil
led workers, he feels.
As far as Barringer is con
cerned, he e^oys both the job
and the feeling one gets foom
making an important contribu-
fion to such a luge enterprise. "I
just get real satisfaction firom
seeing the equipment running,”
he says.
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