Published: July 18, 2008 11:13 pm            

Gifted hands: Mechanic parlayed skills into 45-year career

Raymond Boes of Geistown devoted nearly half his life to the now defunct Sani-Dairy.

Boes, who turned 90 on Monday, started doing odd jobs at the former Sanitary Dairy in 1935 and was hired there in ’36. He worked at the dairy 45 years under four different managers.

“I was the supervisor for the fleet of milk trucks and ice-cream trucks,” said Boes, who dealt with both the 1936 and the 1977 Johnstown floods. “We had around 108 trucks.

“After the ’77 flood, they decided to get rid of all the retail business. All the trucks were under water, and the trailers were upside down over at the plant. That was a mess. I told management that I would stay a year or two and that was it. I retired in ’81.”

Known as a carefree and easygoing individual, who has a hearty laugh and loves to tell jokes, Boes came from a large family, the fourth of 10 children. He was educated through eighth grade at St. Mary’s School in Cambria City.

Boes had a reputation of being a handyman from early in his youth.

When he was in grade school, the nuns discovered that he had the ability to fix almost anything, so they tapped him anytime something in the convent or school needed repaired.

Boes loved doing those odd jobs because it provided him with the opportunity to get out of class.

In those days, if a crowd gathered on the playground, usually Boes was the center of attention. That’s because of his reputation as a mechanical expert, his knack for telling jokes or his ability to play the Jew’s harp.

“When I was a little boy, I played around with wagons and stuff like that, fixing stuff,” Boes said. “When I went to the dairy, I really wanted to work in refrigeration (like his father).

“But in those days, they had sulfur in it and every Saturday, I’d go home with a headache. I asked my dad if he minded if I went to the garage.”

Garage superintendent Lawrence Stutzman, “Stutz” to his co-workers, was happy to have Boes, who was not an employee but still showed up at the shop every day. His parents tried to convince young Ray to continue his schooling, but he had little interest in further education.

“I was the only black sheep of the family. But I showed them that I could do something,” Boes said.

His hard work learning the mechanics trade paid off and Stutz began giving Boes a quarter out of his own pocket every Saturday. Boes took the money, realizing he was getting his foot in the door and hoping it would pay off someday. That was the beginning of his long career at the dairy.

When World War II came along, Boes enlisted in the service in October 1942 and was immediately assigned to the Air Corps. After completing basic training, Boes was sent to the Charleston air base in South Carolina, where he was a mechanic on B-17 and B-24 bombers.

“I went all over the country serving as an inspector and a teacher,” Boes said. “That was my home base. I was very fortunate.”

Boes spent three years in the service and reached the rank of staff sergeant. He was discharged in October 1945 and returned to the dairy.

A friend introduced him to his future wife, Ruth Mahan, on a blind date and – after dating for just less than a year

– the pair married on May 5, 1951. They have been together for 57 years.

In 1953, the Boes family moved into their current home in Geistown. Ray Boes helped with the building of that house.

The couple, members of

St. Benedict’s parish for

53 years, have six children

– Patricia, Larry, Richard,

Dennis, Mary Beth and David

– with 12 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, Abigail.

In addition to Boes and his father, his brother George and son Dennis also worked for the dairy, combining for nearly

125 years of service by the

family. Boes is thought to be one of the oldest living former employees of the Sanitary Dairy.

“Ray’s a very loving husband and grandfather,” Ruth Boes said. “He has devoted his life to the dairy and went through a lot there.”

        

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