Experience

After a few months of working on nothing but small jobs, there came a day when Art could find nothing for Carl and I to do, so he sent us over to the MGM for a week or two, telling us that he would call for us as soon as there was some of our kind of work.

We parked in the huge parking lot and made our way into the casino, looking for a foreman named ‘Trini’. Trinidad Guerra. A very large and loud foreman. Of course we found him easily; we simply listened for him. After the usual introductions, he put us to work in the big showroom on the first floor. It was all pretty simple stuff and Carl and I were soon doing as much or more than the rest of the crew.

At break time I got a chance to meet a lot of the Solari regulars; those who had always worked for them. And I got a chance to learn more about the company.

C. Solari and Sons, Inc. (Established 1918) was named for Camille Solari, an Italian immigrant who had founded the company as a painting contractor. He had also bought a lot of property in Northern Nevada and his sons had continued that tradition; painting and acquiring.

I remembered that when we had come to Reno in 1967 to build the Broadway store, we had some difficulty finding an apartment to rent and one of our crew suggested that we contact Mr. Solari (Al) as he had plenty of rentals available. He owned over 5,000 apartments and houses to be exact. He found one for us immediately. That had been over ten years ago and now I was working for the same Mr. Solari.

Al Solari was also the Chairman of the Board of First National Bank in Reno. When it came to ‘movers and shakers’ in Nevada, he was one of the biggest.

Back to work…

After a few weeks in the showroom we were moved to the tower for awhile. I certainly knew my way around; after all, I had framed most of it while working for Oahu Interiors. So it was noted by the foreman and reported to Art, that I had some talent. Then I was called to Art’s office one day and he closed the door. He wanted to know what kind of experience I had. I told him. And when I mentioned the fact that I had been a superintendent for Pacific States Plastering, he interrupted me to say, “Don’t think you’re going to get my job!” and he was quite serious about it, glaring at me.

Of course I told him that I wasn’t interested in his job and much preferred working with Carl on any small jobs he might have for us.

And that was what I did for the next few months. Art kept me away from any jobs where I might be called upon for a leadership role. Life was good!Just add the old MGM logo to the ends of the towers in this photo and you have a picture of the hotel in the late 70's... I'm not sure who owns it now.