Cabinet Making at Anderson’s Cabinet and Mantel.
Hayden returned home from his mission in December of 2000. Prior to going on his mission there was a young lady that was friends to Tia that had a very strong attraction to Hayden and had let him know before and during the time he was serving. So after he had come home she of course with her family came to see Hayden the day that he gave his Homecoming address. A couple weeks later as we discussed things that he might do for work Anderson’s name came up so he and I went down to see Bret, Rachel’s father and owner of the cabinet shop. I hadn’t really had any steady work either and was not making enough from my photography to make ends meet so when visiting with Bret he decided to ask me if I could work for him. He needed a finish carpenter and asked if I had ever done anything like that. Well I had but it had been years before in High School shop class and also the tinkering that I did with my Shopsmith at home. He had me watch him spray a cabinet and then asked me to do it also. Well needless to say things didn’t go as we had planned that day and I walked out of there with a new part time job and Hayden without one.
I worked for Bret for three years after that until I was forced to go to another job since the part time work wasn’t even enough to keep us on top. However while there I learned a lot of good skills that I have never regretted having learned. There are numerous stories that I will share in more detail later but a short list of things that I learned were not only to spray varnish cabinets but also how to sand them and enjoy it. I hated the sanding part of the jobs in High School but luckily for me the years between High School and working for Bret had allowed for many new tools to be developed and the use of such tools has made sanding a much easier job. I also learned how to work with an alcoholic who at times would yell at me to go home because he could do what needed done and I should be home with my family. I learned to love him and really enjoyed working with him when he was sober. He was a master craftsman when not on the juice and I learned a lot of skills from him. I learned how to mix paints to come up with special color mixes for very picky ladies building new homes. I learned how to design, make, finish and install cabinets. I only regret not having completed being able to make a set of cabinets that I had designed for my den. I did many of the office duties such as keeping track and submitting the time sheets for the entire shop. (Six employees at one point in time.) Ordering the shop supplies became one of my regular duties. I learned how to strip old cabinets and refinish them. (Now that was one part I really didn’t enjoy.) And I even learned how to communicate with Mexicans who knew no English while I knew very little Spanish. They became very good friends however and I miss working them. I had even discussed with them the possibility of traveling with them to their home in Mexico but was never able to afford to do it.
I enjoyed my few years with Bret and learning how to do cabinetry work.
