Tag Archives: Retirement

Farrier Lore: Laying down the hammer

Nationality: Irish, Welsh, Chickasaw
Age: 74
Occupation: Farrier
Residence: Agua Dulce, California
Performance Date: March 18, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: None

Informant : “Horseshoe-ers when you lay your hammer down for the last time the only thing you have to look forward to is dying”

 

The informant is a kind, older, “cowboy” who has been working with horses and farm animals for his entire life. He is a Certified Journeyman Farrier (the highest level of certification by the American Farrier’s Association) and is very well respected in the farrier and greater equine community. He was born in Wichita, Kansas to a family that has been farmers for generations. In fact, the informant said that some of his family is still farming in “places like Oklahoma.” He shod his first horse when he was 13, and so he has been shoeing horses for about 51 years. * To “shoe” or  shod a horse is to put horse shoes on the horse’s hooves. Horses need to be shod about once every six weeks, so quality farriers are highly sought after in the equine community. A farrier is a very specialized and difficult profession because if a horse is shod improperly the horse could become crippled.* The informant learned of this lore from a fellow farrier during his many years in the trade.

When asked what the informant thought of the saying, he stated “…layin the hammer down. I used to think it was funny, but now, now I’m startin’ to believe it.” This particular lore is very relevant to the informant because he is “reaching that time when I’ll have to put my hammer down.” This saying indicates a right of passage. When the older and experienced farrier is going to retire, he will “lay his hammer down for the last time.”

The informant is very passionate about his profession and really enjoys working with horses, so I find that this is a somewhat depressing saying. Furthermore, having been born and raised in a society that avoids death and treats death as a taboo topic such a statement is disconcerting. We do not like imagining those we know passing away or acknowledging that they might.

Ernst & Young LLP Retirement Celebration

Nationality: Polish American
Age: 54
Occupation: Retired CPA Partner
Residence: Pasadena, CA
Performance Date: 3/13/12
Primary Language: English

The informant worked as a CPA-Partner for Ernst & Young LLP and just recently retired in January. He had been working there for thirty-one years, since he graduated college in 1980.

The informant just recently retired at the beginning of January so I thought he would have some good Ernst & Young retirement folklore. He described to me the retirement party thrown by only the other Partners for a retiring Partner. These retirement parties always take place at the California Club in down town Los Angeles and only the Partners of the firm are allowed to attend. All the Partners gather at this party and honor the retiring Partner. Each Partner, if he or she wishes, says something about the retiree, something they really valued in him or appreciated from years of dedicated work. Almost everyone expresses how much they will miss the retiree, and how much he made an impact on the office. It is traditional to provide the retiree with a gift of some kind. The informant received a silver Tiffany serving platter. In return, the retiree usually provides those honoring him with a little token of some kind. My informant assembled a booklet of some of his photographs with inspirational messages on how to live a successful life. At the end of the evening, the retiree is toasted and gives a speech to the other Partners, thanking them for their hard work and support over the years. After this, the Partners slowly trickle out, congratulating the retiree as they depart. After the informant described the party, I followed up with some questions about this experience.

Me: After working at a company so long, what does this little retirement ritual mean to you?

Informant: It was uh, important to be recognized for my contributions to my fellow Partners.

Me: Does Ernst & Young LLP do this type of thing for everyone?

Informant: For all the retiring Partners there are variations of a type of recognition event. The gifts vary and there are some differences in the toasts depending on the particular person.

Me: Why do you remember this ceremony of sorts? Why do you like it?

Informant: Because all my friends were there, and they all had such nice, appreciative things to say. Ha ha, it’s nice to hear.

Me: Why does the company do this for each retiring Partner?

Terry: Because they want to maintain a good relationship with the retiring Partners because it could mean future business for the firm. And it’s a good chance to get all the Partners together from the office. When you celebrate success, it breeds success.

These retirement dinners seem to be an important way of celebrating many years of hard work. Essentially, I understood this little ritual to be about acknowledging all the effort an individual has put into their work and recognizing the fact that it has paid off. The dinners are a way of celebrating hard work, but also, when it’s someone like my informant who had worked there for thirty years, celebrating a type of life. It’s a gathering of people who aren’t just co-workers but friends. It’s a way to pleasantly shut the door on one time in a person’s life and open another new and exciting one.