Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tom Lakenen . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tom, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
How did I beat the township man? I quit drinking in the mid nineties, needing something to do , I started building metal sculptures. After having about 15 displayed in front of our home, the township threatened me with a ticket for having a sign in a residential area! I moved everything to my back yard and kept building more sculptures, 2003 we refinanced our house for another 100 years and bought property for a sculpture park. The township zoning was good on the property for what I had planned. For some unknown reason the township threatened me with a ticket every year for 8 years. I finally met a snowmobiler who had a buddy that was a corporate lawyer and willing to help, he got for me the original deed for the property dating back to the 1800’s , sent it to me with some lawyer forms and instructions. I completed everything and brought it to the registered deeds office. It put my name on the deed dating back in the 1800’s. Now since I owned the property before the State of Michigan, Marquette County and Chocolay Township, I am exempt from state and local ordinances. I posted my property to keep the Chocolay township planning and zoning board off my property and allowing everyone else in the world to enter 24/7/365. All the bullshit stopped immediately and it’s been 12 years now with no threats from the township man!!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’ve worked my whole life as a welder in construction, 20 years welding pipe in refineries and other industrial projects, then 20 years welding boiler tubes in power houses around the country. I am a member of both the Pipefitter s and Boilermaker’s Union, and I have worked occasionally with the Ironworker’s. When I quit drinking almost 30 years ago I started building iron sculptures from left over scrap from the different jobs I’ve worked on. Building the sculptures kept me busy between jobs and made it easier to stay sober. The knowledge learned working in the building trades made building sculptures quite easy, on the job everything has to be plumb, level and square with the world, plus hold 2 thousand pounds of pressure. Welding the leg on a dinosaur can be bent crooked and maybe even backwards and nobody cares, lol I plan on retiring in February 2024 and will continue making sculptures till whenever!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I have 2 brothers and 1 sister and our father who was in the Army special forces, green berets made sure we were work ways, we had plenty of screw off time but when there was work to be done you had better get with it. The Pipefitter’s Union teaches you to do it right the first time, there was no reason for half ass work. The last thing is just don’t give up, learning to weld good enough to consistently pass X-ray on high pressure welds is not easy, but don’t give up,
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When your drinking 30 beers a day, every day, giving it up is not easy. Staying busy helped me remain sober and also eating sweets. Nothing like a big Icecream cone to ruin the craving for a cold beer!
Contact Info:
- Website: Lakenenland.com
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Image Credits
Lisa Lakenen
