Sunday, June 19, 2022

Brick Driveway History. Prologue I

I posted a picture of my “driveway water sparkles” to my Facebook page and received a response that was beyond anything I ever imagined. This summer marks the 10th anniversary of putting all those driveway bricks down.
That 2012 driveway construction was not a case of simply engaging a contractor to do a job.

It was a project that evolved over the years and the miles between Lockport, NY and Tuscaloosa, AL. 

I got the idea to finally consolidate my many journal entries of the 2012 driveway project and rewrite this all into a more of a readable story over just recording what transpired. There is also the back story of the sidewalk bricks that ties into the driveway which can be considered a prologue to this saga. 

My mom died in December of 1994. I was the executor of her estate and it was in the spring of 1995 I was able to close the book on everything. As the year progressed, it was not realized I was also laying the groundwork to be closing the book on the Lockport, NY house I had called home since 1978. 

That summer of 1995 I finally had a deck built off the dining room. When I redid that dining room in the early 1980’s I installed a door to the south wall which did wonders to open that room up to daylight. 

For too many years that doorway was just a portal to nowhere. A deck installation was one of those “round-to-it” projects that never got done. Gary was in the process of installing a deck to his house on Niagara Falls Blvd in Buffalo. He was my inspiration in more ways than one. 

1995 evolved to be a brutally hot summer. Gary was under so much stress pouring cement for the footers, leveling up joists, not to mention all the anxiety that goes with such a job. I did not want to mimic Gary’s aggravations. 

When I contacted Chase Pitkin to price out lumber for this project, the manager of the lumber department informed me the store could contract out the basic deck and stair installation for a labor fee of some $400.00 added to the lumber costs. Where do I sign???

 That $400.00 turned out to be one of the best investments I ever made. Gary began his project way before me. I was putting on the finishing touches long before he drove the last nail to his project. 

Once the deck was up it was time to group all my bricks together into a patio. The treasured bricks I had salvaged in 1983 were finally installed in one place. The deck/patio signaled that I had maxed out the improvements I could sensibly undertake to that old house of mine.




The neighborhood had been slowly getting shabbier as the old established residents died off and their properties turned into rental units. I smiled inwardly when my neighbors complained to me how the 8ft privacy fence I installed blocked off the view to my backyard they so enjoyed. 

These tenants next to me would always back their “piece of shit van” into the driveway right next to the doorway to the dining room. That way they could exit by driving straight out. In the winter they would idle the engine of this smoky rattletrap forever to warm it up before driving off. The exhaust fumes would filter into my house. You could not reason with these people. 

It was in February 1995 I took a much-needed break from the executor duties and flew to Ft Myers, FL to attend the Orlando Phonograph Show. Billy picked me up at the airport and we tore into our lunches seated outside at the restaurant patio. As I luxuriated in the sunshine wearing a Lands End polo shirt, soaking up that glorious sun, a seed was planted into my mind. That seed was I did not have to endure endless Western New York winters anymore if I chose not to. 

One of the major anchors holding me to Lockport was watching over my mother. I promised dad on his deathbed I would always be there for her. I had fulfilled my obligation. In the fall of 1995, the exhaust fumes from the “piece of shit van” again saturated my house signaling the start of winter. It was like those noxious gasses germinated that seed planted in the Florida sunshine to move south. 

Harrison Radiator was again moving work to the Tuscaloosa, AL plant. Wayne and Julie were in line for the next transfer which happened in the late fall of 1995. 

It is funny the influence people can have on your life. Julie was good friends with my sister. It was Julie who found me my Lockport apartment in 1976. Mom was so upset when I moved out but it was time. My GM job seemed fairly secure so I no longer could use the excuse to live at home to save money. 

Julie was working in real-estate and she toured me through the house I eventually bought in 1978. 

To jump ahead… Julie moved to Tuscaloosa, in 1995. I followed finally getting my transfer in late May1998. 

Then Julie went to Corvette Assembly in the winter of 2004 and I followed her arriving at Corvette in August 2004! 

January 1996, I flew to Atlanta. I stayed with Joe’s Uncle Tony for a couple days before driving west to Tuscaloosa, AL In Tuscaloosa I stayed with Lockport friends who had transferred to the Tuscaloosa plant in the early 90’s. 

After studying maps for weeks, I had a pretty good idea of the layout of Tuscaloosa and Northport. I took a drive around the city before contacting my friends. On this excursion I felt such a pull to the historic district where I now live on that first drive through. 

I began to make friends and connections with Tuscaloosa residents and building a network of friends. One connection was a real estate agent who toured me through a couple “historic” houses. One such 1890’s house had me blinded to all its faults. 

It just so happened Billy was enroute to Las Vegas to pack up a collection. His friend Paul was the “sidekick” to help out on this trip.

 Billy and Paul met up with us in Tuscaloosa for a quick visit on the way. Billy is no stranger to real estate. When I showed him this property I was “Ga-Ga” over he gave me the needed dope slap. He took me to the back and pushed my thumb through a back window sill to point out the rampant dry rot. That was all it took to pull me back to reality. 

The die had been cast for me to move south…

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About Me

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Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States
Retired auto worker who can now spend too much time restoring his 1922 Bungalow Home. I'm involved in a number of varied activities from collecting bricks to rowing with a masters rowing group. This blog is to share different aspects of my life on my Facebook page. I've kept an on-line journal for eight years.