In his book, Tobacco Parish, Barney E. Daley describes shed raising:
“One autumn, I worked for a short time for a carpenter named Mike Karkowski. He was a master mechanic, and when he built something, the only way to get it down again was to burn it. That year, we built three sheds on Sullivan Avenue. Mike would lay out several bents on the ground where we spiked them together and then the sections would be raised up one at a time by several men by means of long wooden poles with metal pointed tips. They were just like the ones in colonial times. The only difference between these sheds and those of old was that we used spikes instead of mortise and tenon, or, as some call this, post and beam. Mike’s two sons, Paul and Benny, and myself had the jobs of going aloft and spiking the two sections of each bent together at the purlin’ while the pike men held them steady and Mike trued them with the level. The best part of the raising was done in the morning and as much of the shed was raised as possible, since the pike men acquired a tremendous thirst after a few sections were raised, so they were nailed off enough to secure them. Later we would finish nailing.
“The pike men required inner fortification, of which there never was a lack at a shed raising. By the time noon arrived, some had fallen by the wayside, and it was not good practice to keep on with using the pike poles. These men were through for the day, and since most were volunteer help, what could one say? This is when nailing off came in. The volunteers took their pay in cider or something stronger even if prohibition was in effect.
“You didn’t take an hour for lunch. As soon as everyone had finished eating, back to work you went. In the fall, if you were carpentering, you worked until you could no longer see the nail heads. There were no pension plans and no medical benefits. You were on your own. If you got cut on the job, you just wrapped a handkerchief around the cut or sticking plaster if there was one available and kept on working.”
Image: William G. Dudley, 1992.13.206