Narrator affiliation: Assistant Manager for Environment, Safety, Security & Health, Department of Energy Access note: May not quote in any form without written permission from interviewee
Cleveland A. Earle Rinker was born in Indiana in 1883 to S. Cleveland Rinker and Isadora (Fenwick) Rinker. Shortly after his twentieth birthday Rinker went to Parker, Indiana, seeking work as a stenographer. He soon began working as a clerk for Thomas Condon, a coal and oil dealer who was also an enthusiastic investor in Nevada gold mines. Condon encouraged Rinker to seek his fortune in the gold fields and, in late October of 1906, Rinker boarded a train to make the journey to Goldfield, Nevada.
This photograph has three images. The first one (0272_0040) reads, "Early morning on grave-yard shift, day shift coming on, notice lunch boxes. Hardway Johnnie (John Armitage) the graveyard Asst. Super. Coming down to see why they are slow getting to their jobs - that's me right behind him." "The men nicknamed me Hardway Jr. I relayed his orders. He had a hard time walking those 2x12 boards on top of the forms - they did install rails later, as you can see, but didn't weather the rough treatment - (xx) elevator shaft." "I got a lot of learning under John Armitage. He sent me to relieve on so many different jobs. Had clean up crew for three months - also I ran the pours with #5 hi-line until it could reach the dam no more, with the angle it sat. Tied steel on intake towers two nights." "Most fearful job was relief hook tender on the stiffleg. The job was situated on a pad on the upstream face of the dam, about level with the low-mix trusel, with just enough room for two of the 8 yd. buckets - the stiffleg would leave a bucket of mud - pick an empty one - No.6 hi-line would leave and empty one and pick up the empty. The men stood as flat as they could - during the exchange with the bucket down. The men would grab the swinging steel cables in one hand, the 12 pound hook that felt like 50 pounds. Place cable on eye in bucket, then twist hook down and slam in place - no guard rails." The second one (0272_0041) reads "Intake towers growing. The bottom of the picture shows a finished pour - it must cure for 12 hours in the hot weather, and 48 hours, cold weather - 300 ft. down if you step off the end of this panel (see arrow)," as a handwritten inscription. The third one (0272_0042) reads "The morning after my first night of work, with Dickey" (dog).