Hello,

To expand a little on what Ken wrote, the SP in Oakland had a very large wood working, or wood shop operation. My Grandfather Juan Jose de la pena ran the furniture/cabinet shop that was part of it. He was the last journeyman furniture/cabinet maker employed by the SP in the shop and systemwide. I remember when I was in about high school that by some union agreement the SP was allowed to close the shop but not until he and the senior cabinet finisher in the paint shop retired. Within days of them both retiring about five years later,the shops were torn down or rather and majority of the building complex was razed.

When I was in grade school I remember being able to visit the shop a few times with my father taking me or my other grandfather taking me. Even though that was a good amount of years before he retired, by then there was only him and helper and the cabinet finisher all of were the same age, where more than 50 men worked for him in that shop complex and supporting buildings as late as the 1950s. It was rare in those times for them to make any new furniture for the SF Offices or train stations, so most of their time was made spent making wooden crossing arms. At some point the SP decided to stop painting the crossing arms and the cabinet paint shop would apply what was then new and ultra modern reflective tape from 3M. The day he and the other two men retired one of the company officials that came by to say good-bye to him saw me look at the tape in amazement and gave me a huge roll of it for some reason. I still have that roll someplace. :-) I also have a number of the shaper knives he would make by hand starting with a piece of tool steel, and plan sets for the furniture he would design. The whole process starting from undimensioned raw lumber to finished product took place in that shop. He once told me that when they would make a piece of furniture for #1 Market they would allows make three copies, because as soon as the original would be delivered sure enough that person's peers would want to have a copy too.

There is also a Ken connection to this story. At one point I guess the union used a card with an area around the edge with each month listed. When you paid your dues that month was punched. In my grandfather's workbench at home was a pile of these cards along with passes neatly rubberbanded together. I still have a few someplace but I know if I was to look on that card I would see the name of Ken's grandfather who served the union for many years, and help make the SP a safe and great place to work for many, many of my family members on both sides of my family. Many thanks to your Grandfather Ken