Father taught his three sons the value of hard work
Ben Davis’ father expected his sons to learn trades before they left home.
“When I was 12 years old my daddy said to me and my two brothers, ‘Boys, you may never go to college. You may never even get out of high school. But by the time you walk out of this house, you’re going to have a trade.’
“By the time I was 15, I could run pretty much any piece of dirt equipment or crane, do survey work, you name it. We got one week off when summer started and one week at the end of summer before going back to school. The rest of the time we worked. We paid rent and we bought our own school clothes. That’s just the way my daddy wanted it to be. It’s just the way it was.
“He had a big old hand. He wore a size 18 ring. They had to take two rings to make his wedding band. So when he put that thing upside your head, it didn’t take but a couple of times for you to pay attention.
“But he was right. We learned a trade. And all three of us were real lucky because through the years, we were never out of work.”
— Ben Davis
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