Found a photo of my granddad's sweep crew from the 60s and the gear blew my mind

I was going through some old boxes in my parents' attic in Cincinnati and found a black and white picture of my granddad and his crew from 1965. They're all standing in front of their truck, and I swear, half of them aren't even wearing gloves. I knew things were different back then, but seeing them handle those heavy rods and brushes with bare hands really hit me. The brushes looked like they were made from actual tree branches, not the poly bristles we use now. I showed it to my buddy who's been in the trade for 40 years, and he just laughed and said, 'We used to think soot in the cracks was a badge of honor.' It makes you appreciate how far the safety gear and tools have come. Has anyone else found old pictures or stories that show how much the daily grind has changed?

3 comments

3 Comments

lilychen2mo ago

Totally get it! My hands hurt just looking at that, and @norag55's uncle is right about those stains being a forever souvenir.

spencer_sanchez6724d ago

Man, 2006 is when I got my first taste of that life. My buddy roped me into helping him strip this house his grandma owned, no pay just pizza and bad beer. We didn't have any gloves, just a putty knife and a prayer. By the end of the first day my hands were beat red and raw, felt like I had grabbed a hot stove. The next morning I couldn't even make a fist, but we went back and did it all over again. That black grime under my nails stuck around for a solid week no matter how much I scrubbed.

norag552mo ago

My uncle was on a sweep crew in Cleveland around that time. He said they did have leather gloves, but they wore through them so fast it was cheaper to go barehanded. The real badge of honor was the permanent black stain under your nails.