Well, back to the foothills – we had a cold front coming in and the power company put us on stand-by. We ended up working all day putting the lines back up while the trees were knocking them down. One of our last calls we got was on the outskirts of Knoxville on a road called Black Fox Hollow. The power company told us that there were a couple of spans of wire down across the Hollow. Well we headed that way with our small convoy of trucks. As we were driving out I was wondering what a hollow was. I have heard the word before but never seen one.

So I asked the foreman what a hollow was and he started laughing. I asked him what was so funny while he laughed and radioed back to the other trucks. He said, “Old flatlander here doesn’t know what Holler is.” He pronounced it ‘holler’ – that’s hollow with a southern drawl. The guys started laughing on the radio and said, “He’s about to see one!” When we arrived it was just about dark and we could tell that the weather was moving in fast. As we turned onto Black Fox Hollow Road, the old, gravel road began to go straight up along the side of the mountain. Now I was realizing what a ‘Holler’ was. We got to the top and stopped and I mean to tell you – if you can picture this – at the top where we were was pole number one. If you looked to the west about the length of a football field was pole number ten. So you can tell what old Black Fox Holler Road did. It went straight down and straight back up. We found the downed wire at the very bottom. As we were finishing the job I remember snow flurries and the wind howling through the trees. I also remember the swift, running water racing down the mountain. We got back in the truck and my foreman asked, “Well, you know what a ‘holler’ is now!” I replied, “Yes – the steep side of a mountain.” He started laughing. And now to this day we still talk about the time on Black Fox ‘Holler’ Road.

The company I was working for used the gloving method off the pole.  Meaning we would climb the poles and work 7200 volts off our hooks and the only safety barrier between us and the wire were our 30,000 volt gloves and our rubber sleeves that we wore to protect our hands and arms from making direct contact to the live wires.

The particular pole I was working on had a bad transformer and we had to replace it.  I climbed up about 3/4 of the way and hung my handline.  I called down to the guys to send up my rubber goods so that I could cover the live wires.  After covering them it started to drizzle rain.  Now we all know that water and electricity don’t mix.  But, being a lineman, we work in all sorts of climate conditions.  Anyway I was bound and determined to restore power as quickly as possible so I could get out of the weather.  I climbed up to the top of the pole and got into position to hang my handline.  As soon as I wrapped my handline around the top of the pole the electricity started tracking across my gloves and sleeves giving me a sensation I will never forget.  The electricity was attacking every joint in my body letting me know it was there.  I don’t know how I broke free, but I did.  I think the Big Guy upstairs was watching out for me.  After I broke free I realized how dangerous this job really is.  I finished the job and my body was sore the next day.  And that was one close call I will never forget.