By the time you read this article, I will have turned 79 years old. With the assistance of hearing aids, cataract surgery, knee replacements and removal of my gallbladder, I’m in great health. As I tell friends and my medical doctor, “I have a witch doctor looking after my health.” Let me explain. The witch is my wife Bess, a water witch. Bess is known internationally as a Master Certified Water Dowser (MCWD). She formerly served as the vice president of the American Society of Dowsers and remains a board advisor today.

Columnist Porky Cutter’s wife, Bess, is a dowser, one of the many talents spread across the family of well drillers. Source: iStock

Many people don’t believe in water witch doctors/dowsers. However being married to one for almost 60 years, I have the utmost respect of professional water dowsers. Bess finds water (if it’s there). After dowsing a property she can advise the client where the vein travels, how deep it is and approximately how many gallons the vein can supply. Much of the gallons per minute that the well supplies depend on the driller and the well construction. Dowsers are like drillers. Some are better than others.

An update on Piglet (Chris): He’s been in Haiti teaching drilling with the client’s Schramm T-64 HB since shortly after Thanksgiving. To date, he has drilled several 300-foot wells in the mountains on an island near Haiti. He’s staying in a rented house nearby with only a generator, no water (must haul) and no TV or Internet. However, he does have a cellular phone. He’s quite isolated from people and stores. When he arrived, he found that the rig had been in the hot rainy environment stacked for almost a year. That’s not good for any rig, let alone an air rig. I think he has about 20 more wells to drill. When everything works, he’s able to drill about a well a day.

Our elder son Randall has moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn., and is working for a drilling company. He’s moved everything there, including his shop tools and the Failing 250 that he is restoring. He hopes to be able to continue the restoration on his days off.

Our youngest grandson, Howard Anthony Cutter (goes by Anthony), is a 4th generation well driller/mechanic living with Bess and myself while he looks for employment and waiting on his passport to arrive. Jobs were limited where he was living in North Carolina. In the meantime, he is doing needed repairs around our home, and fixing and updating our computers. Anthony has experience with repairing anything mechanical from rigs to boats, to vehicles and small engines. He’s a great information technology (IT) guy. His hobby is building quadcopters. Anthony is like his uncle “Piglet,” but not as noisy. In the meantime, I get to spend time with one of my grandsons.

Our oldest grandson, Randy II, has formed his own business building clocks and selling them online at stores.ebay.com/Clocks-Galore-Store. He builds clocks with the customer’s favorite photo, such as a drilling rig, car, truck, animal or person, on the face. He formed his business so that he can stay home and raise his daughter.

The Cutter’s, excel in whatever job they pursue. As we say “It’s a CUTTER thing. . . you wouldn’t understand!”

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