As I peer into the rearview mirror, I envision the people who were instrumental in shaping my career. One such person was George Wahl, a foreman for the Bartlett Tree Expert Co. in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. I was hired for my first summer job (not an internship) to work on a tree crew (not a team) in June 1971. Could you imagine that I was hired to replace a person they had just fired due to chronic truancy? Sarcastically, that lack of work ethic certainly wouldn’t happen in this day and age.

Jerry King sketch 2025

Wahl stood all of 5 feet 5 inches, stocky, but was strong as an ox. He was rapidly losing his hair but still had a healthy fringe around the side, which was permanently indented by the brim of his ever-present hard hat. A thick cigar, lit or unlit, hung from his lips.

On the first day of the job, I was wandering around the yard and was struck by both an American flag and a peace-sign sticker on the side of Wahl’s 1963 GMC chip truck. America was still heavily involved in the Vietnam War, and its participation split the nation into fervent factions. Upon closer inspection (of the peace sign), however, were the words “Footprint of the American Chicken.” You see, Wahl was a Marine, WWII, and fought on the islands of Southeast Asia.

He had no quarter for anti-war protesters.

Wahl’s personal vehicle was a 1965 Chevy pickup truck whose toolbox was rumored, but never proven by me, to contain more tree care paraphernalia than a fully equipped chip truck.
As paychecks were fairly skimpy for an arborist at that time, it’s no wonder that most workers with any skill would seek extra income on a weekend. We punched in at 7:30 a.m. and the GMC rolled out of the shop at 7:31. I was the fourth person in a truck designed for three people. On the way to the job, Wahl occupied the driver’s seat, Grampa (so called because he was in his late 50s) sat in the middle and Juan was by the door. I sat on the steel above the rear tires. On the return trip, I had the luxury of sitting on a bed of wood chips.

The first stop was the coffee shop. The counter worker saw the truck pull into the lot and immediately put two slices of white bread in the toaster and poured a cup of coffee and a glass of water with ice. By the time we entered the shop, everything was neatly placed in front of Wahl’s spot. Ice cubes went into the coffee to rapidly cool it down. We were back in the truck within five minutes. Me even attempting to order anything was wasted effort.

Upon arrival to the work site, Wahl was all business. I was tasked with getting the 40-foot wooden ladder and pole saws from the top of the truck and gassing the chain saws, while Wahl and the others reviewed the work order. Every moment was productive. Once, when a client was lingering too long around a log that needed to be cut, Wahl fired up a Homelite XLI 2 and told the client to watch his leg. That was the last time the client ventured out. He sent lunch into the tree when another climber was taking too long to complete the pruning. The crew was always rewarded for our hard work by completing the job early but getting paid for the full day.

Wahl didn’t take kindly to shenanigans. We had a two-day job at a private high school. As the students were leaving, a boy leaned out of the car window and snatched the flag atop our metal “Men Working in Trees” sign, waving the flag as he drove by. The following day, Wahl bolted the flag into the sign. When the student tried a similar heist, the sign crashed into the side of the car, scratching it badly. “Let him explain that to his dad,” Wahl said.

I learned a lot about trees and running a crew in the short time I worked with Wahl. As I peppered him with questions while eating lunch, he would take the time to add prose to the blank sheet that I was. Safety first. Do the hardest trees at the beginning of the day. Rake toward the truck. Do things right the first time. Hard work won’t kill you.

As I turn my eyes to the road ahead, I am most appreciative of those who were mentors in getting me to where I am today.

Paul Wolfe II is the owner of Integrated Plant Care Inc., a 37-year TCIA member company in Rockville, Maryland. He is a former member of the TCIA Board of Directors and served as its president (now chair) in 1998. He is a recipient of both TCIA’s Award of Merit and the President’s Award. He proudly does not have a smart phone or email.