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Dad - 1924 |
At
13 years of age in 1935 I worked on my first well, a windmill owned
by Mr. H D Storey. I had never been so scared, for we had to
assemble a wheel on a 12
Aermotor atop a 40 ft wooden tower
and since I was the smallest and lightest I got the honor of sitting
on the tail vane with my legs wrapped around the bonnet. It was my
job to lower the rope to the ground and pull each blade section up
to the top so the men on the platform could bolt the section in
place. At the end of the day I was paid a mans wage of 50 cents and
all the cornbread and jackrabbit I could eat.
After the meal I asked HD if I could have a full time job, and he
told me to go to school, and I told him for 50 cents school would
have to wait. Then all he said was “after you work on all my wells
you will be more than glad to go back to school.” Well now I am 85
and I am still working on windmills.
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We officially started my company in 1946 with a team of mules, a
old Sears and Roebuck buck board wagon, a worn out block and tackle
with a new one inch hemp rope [it was legal in them days] and a old
set of tools I borrowed off another old well man in the area. Cody
Huff is the man I give credit to for helping me start my own
business. For in those days I was making 30 dollars a month and
board. Cody convinced me that I was good enough, and if I would go
to work for my self I could make up to 120 dollars a month sometimes
working for my self.
It was not until 1962 that I installed my first submersible pump. I
could not sell one of them things down here, cause no one wanted or
could accept the fact, you could stick a electric motor in the
ground and not get electrocuted when you got a drink or something. |
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My brother, dad and me -
the youngest in 1961. |
From the start of that first pump in 1962 we rapidly started to sell
more and more of them once folks found out how trouble free they
were and the simple fact a electric pump could move as much water in
a day as a windmill could in a month. We built our first pump hoist
at the end of 1963 [it is still in daily use today.] I designed it
and my son and a local welder put it together for me. Today we have
a very diverse company serving all types of well customers needs.
And not only do we still work on the occasional windmill but we also
service and sell pumps, whole house filtration systems, well
reconditioning and a jetting service. Our newest pump can retrieve
water from very marginal wells and also produce large amounts of
sand and gravel with out damage to the pump equipment. |
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From the very start I have always demanded excellence in the well
equipment I sold and I demanded even more from those who worked for
me. We still have regular customers that call on us as far back as
1949. The reason I can not go farther back is because I have out
lived them. I have taught my sons, grandsons and God willing, I will
be around to teach my great-grandson this one fact of business. A
quality job is nothing to be ashamed of – but - A substandard job
will get you fired. |
Dad going to work at age 70 in
1993 ! |
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Dads first pole truck 1963 or early 64 |
Over the years we have had a few name changes from Dow's windmill
repair, Dow White submersible pumps and wind mill service, and now
today we are just Whites Well Service.
In February of 2007 we opened a new division using my sons and
Grandsons first initials - CJ WELL SERVICE. The reason we did this
is because they talked me into going on line with a web page and
this was as close as they could find to a family name. They say CJ
stands for Clarence and Jason and I told them that as smart as they
are - it should stand for Cletus and Jethro. |
Dad is the oldest boy - about 1928 |
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Well y'all never mind I still have the company by the horns
and We Are Open For Business! |
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Thank You for the
trust,
Dow
White
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CJ Well Service
proudly supports 1800 customers in 11 counties
with our fully trained crews and well equipped trucks! |
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