As a 16-year-old, I had an after-school job at Delbarton School in Morristown as a Janitor. The priest that I worked for asked me to help a plumber and after I was through, he asked me “So, how did it go?”

I stated that I really like doing that kind of work. He replied “Good, now go ask him for a job.” I followed through and asked Mr. O’Keefe at Joe’s Snack Bar in Mendham for a job. He was having lunch and an afternoon cocktail and was a bit grumpy. He said “I don’t know if I need help, but we’ll see.” A couple days later Mr. O’Keefe called me to come and help him which became a regular plumbing job with a local plumber. It was hard, dirty and sometimes dangerous. The knowledge, secrets and experience he shared with me have stayed with me for 35+ years and I’m grateful to Mr. O’Keefe for that.

While I was attending Mendham High School, they offered a work-study program which enabled me to attend classes and then
work in the afternoons. This program lasted through graduation and thereafter for 15 years until I received my New Jersey State
master plumber’s license.