Phil Lesh on Big Brown

[LuckyCharms]

6. He was a tannery worker in a shoe factory...

The tannery is where they convert raw animal hides into usable leather.

The hides need to be treated with chemicals to make them supple and usable. Hence, they needed to wear a lot of protective clothing.

I never met my grandfather. He died young. He was a diabetic, and he either suffered a fall, or he got in an altercation (I've heard conflicting stories)...whatever happened, he got his nose busted. It never healed and it became infected, and it was the infection that killed him.

Pretty much every one on my dad's side worked that job for at least a brief period of time. My dad did for awhile, he also worked in the kitchen of the shoe factory. Eventually, my dad went off on his own and was self-employed. His brothers and sisters also eventually left the factory. Some then worked different regular jobs, some went into the trades, some became executives.