The Driller
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
  • EDUCATION
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Water
  • Geothermal
  • Construction
  • Environmental
  • Mining
  • All Industry News
  • EQUIPMENT
  • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
  • Consumables
  • Pumps
  • Featured Products
  • VIDEOS
  • Newscast
  • Drill Talks
  • Ask Brock
  • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
  • Drilling Business Insights
  • Reference Desk
  • Sponsored Insights
  • EVENTS
  • Conferences & Demo Days
  • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
  • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Advertise
The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP

Porky's Hole Thoughts: Being a Kid, Porky-style

By Howard "Porky" Cutter MGWC
May 1, 2007

Even as a child, I loved digging in the dirt. In our hometown of Covington, Okla., my best boyhood friends, Calvin Redwine and Joe Rouser, and myself loved to dig tunnels. Our tunnels were small trenches covered with boards and then dirt. We dug these tunnels from under my dad’s garage floor to a cave we had previously dug behind the garage. We had a loose board in the garage floor that we could remove to enter the tunnel.

When our dads found out about our tunnel and cave, they determined it wasn’t safe, so they made us uncover the cave. Then dad brought home a big, 8-foot round, steel oil-tank top, and placed it over the cave. We covered it over with dirt and grass, making a big clubroom. We had a hidden backside escape, and still retained the tunnel under the garage floor. We had a light in the cave and all the comforts of home.

We dug a hole in the floor of the cave and buried a mini-time capsule. We placed coins, comic books and other things that kids value in the capsule. The house, garage and the cave all are gone now, but, to my knowledge, the time capsule remains there today.

We decided to expand our tunnel-making project, so we went to the abandoned and rundown local city park. We dug trenches all over the park, and covered them with boards and dirt. We created vast networks of dark passageways. This worked fine – that is, until our dads found out. Then they made us uncover the tunnels. As the years passed, the city restored the park with picnic tables and added a playground. I’m sure that, to this day, the city can’t figure out why all those trenches were there.

Our dads always were finding ways to do things with us – and to keep us busy. They built a four-bunk-bed screen-ed playroom in our backyard so we all could camp in and keep out the rain and bugs. The bunk beds were made of rope, and the playroom had a screen door. We slept in it each summer, and our folks knew where we were at all times.

We built a tree house in a big tree in Calvin’s backyard. Our dads supervised most of the construction. We had a rope elevator and a ladder to get into it. We’d have many of our meals up in the tree house. We even built an elevator out of a pulley, rope, a tub and some rocks. We filled the tub on the ground with rocks, and tied one end of the rope to it and through the pulley in the tree; the other end had a sling to sit in. The idea was to get into the sling in the tree house, and guys on the ground would remove the rocks in the tub until it started up and the person in the sling started going down. It worked great until the halfway point, where the sling met the tub of rocks, dumping both the rocks and the person in the sling. It came down fast, with rocks falling on his head and on the guys on the ground. It wasn’t a good design and immediately was scrapped.

With my dad’s help, we built a big kite with a long tail, but we had to use a small rope as a string. After we got it built, of course we had to see how it would fly. Porky Senior was running with the rope, while Joe and I were holding each side of the kite and Calvin, being the smallest, was feeding out the tail. We were running down the middle of Covington’s Main Street when Calvin got caught in the tail and started going up with the kite! Dad had to back off, so Calvin didn’t keep going up with the kite. That project soon was scrapped as well.

Dad made me a two-wheel trailer for my Cushman motor scooter. When I was nine or 10 years old, I’d deliver groceries, ice and run errands for people for money. Calvin, Joe and I also would deliver newspapers door-to-door with the trailer. The guys would throw the papers from the trailer while I drove the scooter.

Back in those days, most dads had the time to play with their kids; today, they often don’t have that luxury.
ND

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Howard cutter 200px
Howard "Porky" Cutter, MGWC, is a regular contributor to The Driller. For more Porky columns, visit www.thedriller.com/porky.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • geotechnical drilling rig

    6 Onsite Phrases Environmental Drillers Hate

    Here are six phrases that highlight common frustrations...
    Geotechnical Investigation
    By: Jeff Garby
  • Wayne Nash

    Pipe Stuck? Common Causes and Solutions for Drillers

    If you have drilled for any length of time, sooner or...
    Water Wells
    By: Wayne Nash
  • submersible pumps, water well pumps

    Selecting and Sizing Submersible Pump Cable

    This article helps pump installers and servicers decide...
    Equipment
    By: Bob Pelikan
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Manage My Preferences

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the The Driller audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of The Driller or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit
    Sponsored byGeoprobe

    Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

Popular Stories

MainPhotoTwoBrothers.jpg

Two Brothers' Journey Through the Drilling Industry

demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit

Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

AI and Drought Concerns

AI’s Growing Thirst for Water and Power

The Driller Classifieds

COMPRESSORS

EAST WEST MACHINERY & DRILLING IS BUYING AND SELLING AIR COMPRESSORS, AIR BOOSTERS, AIR ENDS & PARTS
Company: East West Machinery

DRILL RIGS

LOOKING FOR LATE MODEL TOPHEADS & DRILLTECH D25'S
Company: Spikes’s Rig Sales

DRILL RIG PARTS

MEETING DRILLERS NEEDS AROUND THE WORLD
Company: East West Machinery

ELEVATORS

SEMCO INC. PIPE ELEVATORS
Company: Semco Inc.

GROUTERS

GROUTING EQUIPMENT - GROUT PUMPS & GROUT HOSE REELS
Company: Geo-Loop Inc.

PUMP HOISTS

SEMCO INC. - BASIC PUMP HOISTS
Company: Semco Inc.

WELL PACKERS

LANSAS PRODUCTS - INFLATABLE WELL PACKERS
Company: Vanderlans Lansas Products

WELL SCREENS

WELL SCREENS & SLOTTED PIPE
Company: Alloy Screen Works

Products

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

By carefully explaining both the underlying theory and the underlying mathematics, this text enables readers to fully grasp the fundamentals of physical and chemical treatment processes for water and wastewater.

See More Products

Subscribe to The Driller Newscast

Related Articles

  • Porky's Hole Thoughts: Being a Green Jacket

    See More
  • Porky's Hole Thoughts: A Dandy Pony for Porky

    See More
  • Porky's Hole Thoughts: Porky Gets a Brand-new Knee

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • M:\General Shared\__AEC Store Katie Z\AEC Store\Images\ND\new site\water-and-wastewater-treatm.gif

    Water and Wastewater Treatment: A Guide for the Nonengineering Professional, Second Edition

  • drilling engineering.jpg

    Drilling Engineering Problems and Solutions: A Field Guide for Engineers and Students

  • M:\General Shared\__AEC Store Katie Z\AEC Store\Images\ND\new site\a-builders-guide-to-wells-a.gif

    A Builder's Guide to Wells and Septic Systems, Second Edition

See More Products

Related Directories

  • Hole Products

    Hole Products is a global leader in providing high performance drilling supplies, tools and equipment to the construction, direct push, environmental, geotechnical, geothermal, HDD, mineral exploration, rotary, sonic, and water well drilling industries.
×

Dig deeper into the drilling and water supply industry!

Build your knowledge with The Driller, covering the people, equipment and technologies across drilling markets.

SIGN UP NOW
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Classifieds
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP