No job too big or small for irreplaceable handymen

by Joel O'Kane, BAAJ II

By Joel O’Kane
BAAJ II

Kenny and Mike Kenny Gordon and Mike Harnish are credited as always being the first on the job and the last ones to leave.

“They do nice work and they have been a tremendous help to the university,” Fred Wallace says. The manager of university services, facilities and purchasing, speaks without reservation about Kenny Gordon and Mike Harnish, the go-to guys of St. Thomas University. If a professor needs a desk moved, they call Mike and Kenny; if the university needs a bookshelf, Mike and Kenny are there to make it. Their efforts are evident all around the campus community, from remodeling the display case in the basement of James Dunn to building the podium in the Ted Daigle Auditorium, it is clear that St. Thomas would not be quite the same without Mike and Kenny’s handiwork.

Kenny became a fixture at St. Thomas in 1994 while working with a construction company on renovations in Harrington Hall. After renovations were completed, he was asked by the university to stay.

“About six years ago, it became apparent that we needed to have our own maintenance guy because of the university’s growth,” Fred recalls. “We hired a super maintenance guy in Kenny Gordon. He is always there, no matter what, to give the time it takes for an exceptional job.”

At the first outdoor Convocation in May 2000, Kenny and Mike were called on to help lay the plywood on the soft ground of the quad to support more than 1,400 chairs (which they also arranged). It took them two long days to finish the plywood job, but, as those who know him can attest, Kenny does not mind.

“I appreciate the work” says Kenny modestly. “I like the boss and the people I work with, and people here are always very appreciative of what I do for them.”

Mike was hired about two years ago to support Kenny’s continual quest of building and rebuilding elements of the St. Thomas campus. His work over the past few summers usually involves helping faculty and students with their day-to-day needs; if there is a door in need of repair or a bookshelf that needs to be moved, Mike and his assortment of tools is always there to help.

For example, Mike and Kenny are presently hard at work building a much-anticipated boot locker that will house winter footwear in the J. B. O’Keefe Centre. This will stand as one of many quality projects they have done. In room 102 of Edmund Casey Hall, Kenny built the classroom’s exquisite and enormous table. The roughly 8' x 12' fir table is crafted to the smallest detail, including table legs designed to accommodate people from every angle. As well, Mike and Kenny helped to move all the furniture, chairs, and faculty belongings to the new Professional Studies Building during the past summer and fall — an incredibly daunting task that is just part of the daily job for Mike and Kenny.

From the perspective of the ever-busy University Services office, it is clear that the campus would come to a standstill, if not for the strong efforts of Mike and Kenny. “If anyone wants to take them away,” Fred says, half-jokingly, “they will have to go through me first.”