Armchair Genealogy

By Melinda Cohenour

September. So nostalgic for so many reasons but for me it shall always be my beloved Rod's birth month. September 10, 1945.

My daughter recently located a photo she took of us as we were leaving her home on one of our many business trips.

I Love this old pic of our Personal Telecommunications Team: my beloved partners Rod and Tito (who became nicknamed by our construction teams from coast to coast as "Cujo" for her vigorous mouthy "greetings" to those who approached my window and caught her unawares.) Those were GOOD times, up before dawn, destination could be a few hours or a couple day's travel.

As Project Manager Rod directed the activities of all the specialties required to complete the work assigned by our various client corporations: AT&T, Cricket, T-Mobile, Verizon, all the biggies. We worked new builds from clearing the plot, gravel pour, fencing, erecting the cell tower, mounting antenna array, positioning and fully equipping the telecom shelter that housed all the computerized brains that controlled the antennae and tracked and documented the traffic for billing, etc. These sites necessitated overnight stays. Always a chore finding a pet accepting motel nearby.

We also managed colocations where our client corporation had an agreement to mount their antennae on another company's cell tower. These were usually much simpler. But watching the guys (a very few gals) who climbed the big towers and their ground crew maneuver the antennae arrays into position was exciting. Most deaths and serious injuries involved in telecommunications arise from falls. We had more than one good friend injured and, sadly, a couple fatalities. Fortunately none occurred while we were on site. I always held my breath when Rod climbed, rooftops, towers, control room sky platforms.

We had a lot of Generac power installs where alternate power was needed to ensure the cell site continued to function when weather or malfunction of the primary battery array required a backup source. Interesting job overseeing the prep work (trenching per plotted diagrams of the cell site, line installation, heavy equipment lifting and positioning of the big Generac generator, and final testing before restoration of the dirt and gravel over the lines etc.) Some sites were really remote: mountaintops, or on a rancher's acreage. Many times our work might be delayed as we waited out a herd of cattle Hell-bent on grazing the approach to our target cell site.

My job was documentation. Tracking dates and times, cell site drawings Before and After, becoming familiar with the antennae types and specific directional locations, etc. Expenses had to be billed so I had to maintain careful records. Some of our trips took several days and, occasionally, involved multiple job locations with different vendors and clients. I most enjoyed creating the cell site drawings. I used specialty computer applications. Had to actually use a grid to show exact distances for trenches, tower footings and directional attenuation for each of the three faces, antenna mounts (these required elevations vs ground plots). I learned a lot and loved the work.

Our work took us coast to coast: California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Alabama, Missouri ... Made good friends, found some really good Mom n Pop cafes and restaurants. Fond memories.

My time with both my beloved Rod and our precious baby girl Tito will always evoke bittersweet memories but I shall always be thankful God granted me the man, the time and those priceless memories.