I got out of the Navy in March of 1961, and in April went to work at Electro Instruments in San Diego. I started as a Production Test Technician working on AC and DC digital voltmeters that were invented and designed by two men from M.I.T. The company was just a few years old, but already had about 250 employees and was the world leader in the production of digital instrumentation. Product lines included DC amplifiers, X-Y recorders, digital ohm meters, and monitor oscilloscopes. Some of the customers were NASA, JPL, U.S. Airforce, U.S. Navy, and Woods Hole Laboratory.

I met Steve “Scotty” Scott soon after I started work. The company had two full-time janitors, and Scotty was one of them. Scotty was nearing 60 years old and was a fair-sized man, probably 6’1” or so and wasn’t fat, but was probably 30 lbs overweight. He had come to San Diego from Brawley, California, a farming community over in Imperial Valley. Scotty said he had been the Hay Boss for a cattle feeding operation there. I didn’t pry, but he looked like he had heart trouble, and I suspected that he had to leave Brawley for his health, leaving the hard work and the oppressive heat behind.

As a side note, Brawley had a parade and rodeo each summer that they called “Cattle Call.” Scotty said he helped organize the celebration each year.

For 2 or 3 years, I didn’t have much time to talk with Scotty. We’d pass each other in the hall and exchange greetings or he’d come through my department and we’d “howdy” each other. I think his shift started at 2:00 pm or so. Sometimes we would have coffee together on afternoon breaks. After about three years, I made foreman so was always working after hours and could sometimes take a break and have coffee with Scotty. One Monday, we were sitting down together, and I mentioned that I had bought a horse over the weekend. Scotty had spent s lot of years on horseback, so he was happy to talk about my filly. When I said I didn’t have a saddle yet, he jumped right on it by saying that he had a nearly new saddle that he would loan me. That was a great help to me. Having 3 kids, rent, and a car payment was making it tough to save up any saddle money.

Scotty brought the saddle to work with him the next day. I was able to use the saddle for several months before I returned it. My wife, Pat, had come down with San Joaquin Valley fever. That’s a respiratory disease caused by breathing in spores from horse dung. I thought I was going to lose Pat. She finally recovered, but I sold the horse, and that’s when I returned Scotty’s saddle. It was generous of him to let me use it.

Scotty and I never visited each other at home. He lived about 20 miles north of our work place, and I lived about 20 miles in the opposite direction. Scotty and I maintained our work friendship for a couple more years until I left the company. A really nice guy.

Dave Thomas

10/19/2023