Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Schmidt.
Hi Tom, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story.
Starts with my dad. I remember the first Christmas present i really liked. I think i was three or four. It was a big see-through turtle, a wind up turtle. you could see gears and springs spinning and things. it was fascinating. I HAD to figure out how it worked. I Had it a million pieces in like an hour. Some time later my mom told my dad picked it out for me – he was disappointed i wrecked it so quickly. I felt bad, but i forget that kind of stuff quickly.
Next. I remember my uncle John. My mom’s brother was an army colonel – a dentist. He has married in vietnam to Lan, who my mom said was “tiny”. They had three children who I had never met – so it was going to neat to meet them – i guess. I could take it or leave it. What uncle john brought with him – now that was cool a airplane kit – for me! a Sig Parasol and a Delta Dart. Awesome! Uncle john and I worked on those down in the work shop, carefully glueing according to the directions one step at a time…Those were the center of my world, wind them up and they Flew! I was five I haven’t stopped building something “airplane” since then…
My dad was a paving superintendent with CECO, davenport Iowa, Im fifth generation Davenporter Schmidt So my dad knew the area like the back of his hand, he knew the roads – he had helped build a lot of them – certain stretches of Brady street or Division st on the north end of town and a lot of miles of the highways in the area I- 80, most of the off ramp for the I-74 bridge, long chunks of highway 61 and Rt-22 around Buffalo. He’s a concrete guy. He had a plan for our yard. He was going to pour concrete and he was looking to US for help. This was going to get interesting. Danny, Julie, Poozie (Ann), Mary, Tom (thats me) Sarah and Mike the pesky baby; that was the Us. Mary wasn’t going to help much she had fingernails and other girl stuff to worry about, That left me Sarah Poozie and Julie. actually poozie and Mary would alternate.
My dad was building something for the new mixer he had got for christmas of 1968. Some kind of board on the garage roof over to a post and frame on the other side of the driveway. Some pulleys, and rope, wires going here and there.. I had to know what WAS this?? I heard him get up, it was dark and the light in the bathroom in the basement was on. I went down. While shaving, I started grilling on what I had see him doing , this and that and i wanted it to make sense.
He gave me a side eye and said lemme get some coffee and we could talk it over then.
He carefully put the coffee together: water, coffee, turn it on, gathered some paper and a pencil. once coffee was poured and a bit of sugar added, he sat. “Look at this”.
He carefully drew a horizontal and a post and a cylinder near the post, “a barrel for water” he said. Then drew a rope over the drum holding a bucket. Next a pump was drawn in the drum. A hose connected the pump to the bucket -” If I fill the bucket with this pump, the bucket gets heavy and goes down” Easy enough. The other end of the rop was drawn to near the ground – it had a hook drawn on the end – it hooke the handle of another bucket he had drawn. He added the Mixer in front of this ground level bucket – he drew gravel in the ground bucket. “This bucket of gravel is heavy. I can fill the water bucket to lift this one up, then i can just tip it into the mixer – “How do you stop the pump when its high enough? Wont it go too far?” I asked. he had a solution “I’m going to use this switch -he drew a weird rectangle and a long lever on it and a little wheel – he called it a “micro switch”- “when this wheel bumps into a hard surface the switch opens and the pump stops. I learned how to approach a problem by drawing to visualize the process and pieces needed to manage the process as things go along. I still use this method to think through a problem and explain to others.
Along the the story there was the go-cart period. Sarah and i agreed we’d push each other if we could build a go cart somehow the paper came out and pencil applied to the best possible extent – for an eight year old and a younger sister. I found some lawn mower wheels in the garage tucked away by my dad. He had grown up during the depression and things were carefully preserved. Things were hard to come by and you never know when you might need something that others just discard. that is a fundamental tenet in my world to this day,
Wheels in hand scrounging through my dad’s extremely orderly storage system – Skippy peanut butter jars of three consistent sizes: 1 cup, 1 pint, and quart sized. Everything labeled and organized according to size digging through that was easy – find something close open the jar and check the bolt if it could be an axel for the wheel? a great supply of cigar boxes held other treasures in a search for axles for the go-cart . I wasn’t as nearly as neat in putting things back.
When my dad came back from work he shook his head and asked what i was up to “Sarah and me want to build a go cart I found some wheels but I don’t know how to connect them I think his eyes twinkled. “show me what you have in mind- I gave him my drawing” “how are going to steer it?” “I don’t know but” “Let me show you,”he said. He showed me (us) where he kept metal bars perfect for axles, a perfect fit for the two wheels I had. He show us how to secure the bar to a 2×4 boards with heavy nails driven in deeply and clinched over. It worked to be an excellent repeatable solution to stick axels to boards of many different kinds!
He patiently walk me through solutions for steering: a 5/8 inch carriage bolt, nut, drill a hole and hammer the bolt through the 2×4 and the plank he gave us to use and washers properly installed for eliminate rubbing “you can steer with your feet, one on each side – left and right easily”. he left me to use the tools and do the work of centering and drilling the 2×4 axel assembly. He had other bigger wheels set aside for some not yet complete project., i could use them “but take care of them ill need those back some day”. The first go-cart was hard but valuable learning process solving problems and developing out of the box solution without too many restrictions and FUN. many came after as sister and i got tired of pushing everything around. I asked my dad about motor to make it go; another opportunity to learn a ton by a patient, kind and resourceful teacher.
Airplane models had remained a main focus through these few years – many many trips by bus to the downtown hobby store. I loved that store, Majors Art and Hobby. Funding a trip to the hobby store required funding. my dad rarely volunteered funding, he counted every penny feeding the seven of us. WE’d not ask, we knew the answer but he made useful suggestions: “The lawn mower is right there, why don”t you go around the neighborhood and ask if they need their grass cut?” I did, it worked, I always had three or four yards to cut, every week! Cash flow. Winter was just as lucrative, winter brought snow. Snow is free money if you’re willing to sweat a little early in the morning. I had four snow shoveling jobs every year; I became friends with the nice old ladies who paid fairly for the hard work. I was good exercise too. I still like it. Its a dopamine hit to see it snow lately. I went out and moved that stuff with relish.
In our house we worked as a team (mostly) but we had a solid routine. Mom had things going on but as a graduate of Clark College in Dubuque iowa i think she majored in chemistry. She was aiming to be a physical therapist. Instead she married my dad and raised us. She always said “I graduated from college to be a physical therapist but none of my education is wasted – I’m sharing it you, to make you the very best each of you can be.” She was a machine, I don’t know how she did it. she marshalled us to do our chores dishes trash clean our room helping to fold the laundry stuff. Its strange but each mentioned job i still like today it a pursuit of quality workmanship – doing your best is all you can ask.
We lived in a big brown house. It was an art deco two story on the corner of High And Carey. The painted stucco was no fun to run into if we were running around the backyard. Inside, the woodwork was thickly white-painted red oak Thickly painted with white paint is a bit of an understatement Everything was white. – on everything windows door frames doors and even the french door windows wee decorated with opaque varnished leaves and dried flowers. it was a lot. I didn’t notice, but mom talked about this topic regularly. apparently the upstairs had been also white everywhere but before I was aware (sometime between child #2 and child number 3) she had stripped it all and the upstairs glowed with a warm pine in early american stain and three coats of varnish. I grew up stepping over skippy jars of Zip-Strip, steel wool and tarp cloths as she restarted what she had done once before. Eventually, my mom with a careful eye taught me to apply and wait for the stripper to do its thing. It was pretty interesting. it was pretty rewarding too. to watch the transformation, to complete a section, to learn the best way to be consistent about color and varnish correctly. Really cool, on par with building airplanes. I did it every chance i got. I got barked at when I made a mess but she’d show me how to correct a mess I made, soo. be more careful .
I’m not sure, Two Three years? it was done. a master piece – you could see the pride of completion on my moms face; my dad’s basically stoic – all in a days work. All of us kids lived thru it. I think it was instrumental in how all of us think. i think I’m actually the lazy one. haha I like an occasional chair. My mom loved antiques, and they were beautiful Walnut was a favorite. Queen anne, victorian, art deco really pretty family heirlooms flowed into our home. By acquisition, occasionally auction, sometimes, instrumentally, as family heirlooms. Amazing creations, imagine what they have seen, who had loved them, sat on them how they were used and displayed – after the house was completed, furniture, the same process, became the project. second place to airplanes, that was really fun and rewarding.
A background detail is that we were a competitive swimming family. as a matter of normal household activities, we went to swim team practice as a normal three times a week process. My mom was the schedule manager while we were kids. practice couple of times a week travel to a swim meet some where in a 70 mile radius from Davenport throughout the year, My brother was a state champion in high school years, a Iowa State University scholarship winner before he bought his company in Ames, Iowa, Ames Trenching. Next to him, I’m a lazy bum, He loved, loved, loved working 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. He was a kind generous guy but hard to pin down because he would never stop. He passed recently, he left behind his lovely wife, Chris and 4 smart men who are also kind and hardworking. He did well.
As a teen, I did my thing, push-shove, cut grass, shovel snow. It kept me busy. School was easy. math was hard. I hated Junior High school – 7 thru grade 9. most of the kids were stupid – my opinion. it was boring; the teachers were commensurate. My mom had me focus on math; I didn’t get it. they taught too fast, I’m not going to stick my hand up.
High school was different. I made a few friends – boys from swim team, those were my two running buddies, Joe and mike. Neither did anything I liked, but I was accepted and they treated me as an equal, just as I was, a smartalack – still I am. English, Physics, physiology, chemistry – yum. The teachers in those courses were interesting and the connection was fruitful. chemistry was a toy. Fun and interesting, how thing work and why; the math was clumsy,. but worked; the physical chemicals did what was explained, Why they worked matched This made sense. I did a lot of naughty stuff chemically, noisy stuff. I developed my little ideas using the same process my day had shared, how to develop a process, to do stuff no one else.. I don’t know why…had the ability/ or interest/ or patience… i’m not sure.
College. It was short, but I learned to weld! Aerospace engineering was the goal but after two semesters I was invited to go home. Too much irresponsibility. It was fun, I made friends at Tau Kappa Epsilon, life long ones, I saw them at my brothers funeral..
After ISU said don’t come back, i told my dad, “I’m going to join the Airforce to learn how to be responsible” I just blew through several grand of dad’s money (he had done something similar after WWII). He thought that’d be a good idea.
I wanted Airplane repair in USAF. I got Heating ventilation and Air Conditioning. I was a plumber-electrician.
2-1/2 years Mountain Home, Idaho wonderful experience, learned a lot pipes, electrical stuff, High temperature hot water, coal fire heating plants – 3 years in Osan korea I married the beautiful mother of my 2 children – 39 years ago. what were we thinking? haha, I love her and them, what a match, what a pair of beautiful girls. After korea my scared new wife and I landed in Merced, California. We grew a lot there. I built her a mahogany china cabinet as a 1st anniversary present. I didn’t know anything about cabinet making, She didn’t realize what i was up to, but she didn’t think i could build what i had drawn. The ole Chief Master Sargent, Orville, at the woodshop didn’t think so either when he looked at the drawing, my methods and explanations, he said, “Was completely backwards”. These guys didn’t know me very well, if i drew it, it’s happening – it’s that simple. He guided me through the technical how-to’s, some construction techniques, build order stuff. It took 6 months a few hours after work on a day to day basis, weekends. my wife would come with me and she’d help here and there…
Airforce turned into civilian life yada yada…into Boats. Me, an airplane guy, working on boats not on my radar – ever – on the first casino boat on the river… 1991, April 1st. I joined as a contractor laborer finishing the build-out of the hvac system. That’s a story…
9 years there. All the projects.. to achieving a merchant Mariners Assistant Engineering licence, working the Trump Casino in Gary IN – meeting that guy twice in one year as part of the crew -.. To Achieving Chief Engineer’s licence and going Back to Davenport’s casinos.. as a boss of the engine room.. to Casino boats going PMV in Iowa, Transfer to Alter Barge Line as their Port Engineer and chasing 7 line boats and 5 harbor towboat anywhere along the length of the mississippi to finally USACE as a watch engineer aboard the Dredge Hurley out of memphis. Powered by GE engines producing 7.3MW of power, controlled by 1991 vintage electronics, lots and lots of different systems.. fascinating and frustrating and decidedly Federal. I really don’t like the machinations of the federal gov. Mission isn’t the point. personal promotion is most largely with a Hugh Crab-salad mentality driving most of those in power and seeking more of it.
I got sick of it. “retired” What they took for granted in my personal business style, I took with me.
I started Atoka Table, now I was doing me and sharing with others – Bring their ideas from imagination to reality.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Biggest obstacle is Time!
Im in Nashville alot
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
engineering on casino boats
Woodworking et al in atoka
Unusal projects, learning and making available lost techniques like woven caning and rush repairs
www.shopatokatable.com/projects
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shopatokatable.com
