Local students find ways to make money for the summer and beyond
From left, Cook Jacob Sharp and sous chef John Jump get food prepped for diners at Firewater Public House.
Basil Phillips edges a lawn in Hanna with his weedeater.
Tylor Goodro mows lawns for the private residents and for the town of Hanna during the summer vacation.
From left, Basil Phillips and Tylor Goodro pull weeds from a Hanna resident's garden.
Caleb Bangs scrubs pots at Firewater Public House.
Depending where you live in Carbon County, summer jobs for high school students can be difficult to find.
Basil Phillips, a junior at Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Middle/High School and Tylor Goodro, a senior at HEM have been working for the town of Hanna to do mostly yard care. They also do yard work for residents in the town. Goodro and Phillips often work together.
Both are glad to have jobs because, in north Carbon County, the opportunities for summer jobs is limited.
"It was not easy to find jobs in Hanna," Phillips said. "We put up notices up around town, but it wasn't until the middle of the summer we started to get busy."
Both got jobs with the town of Hanna to landscape in July and, before that, it was taking care of private residents yards.
"If you broaden your horizons and have transportation, you can find work in towns like Rawlins," Goodro said.
Both are happy to have work in Hanna because besides working for residents and the town, ranches are a possibility.
Phillips did work at the Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow the year before, but the drive was not always easy.
Goodro agreed being able to get work locally was better than having to drive miles away but sometimes there was no choice.
In the Valley, there is more opportunity because of so many more businesses. Caleb Bangs, a 16 year old, found a job at Firewater Public House (Firewater) a few weeks ago. He said finding the job had not been difficult.
"I like working at the restaurant," Bangs said as he got a load of dishes ready to go through the dishwasher.
His co-worker, Jacob Sharp, is 17 and has worked at Firewater since it first opened. He is a cook at the restaurant and agreed with Bangs that the Valley had opportunities for summer jobs and even jobs that lasted year round.
"It depends on what you want to do," Sharp said."Kitchen can be found fairly easy, usually starting off as a dishwasher."
Sharp said his first job was at Bella's when he was 15 and worked there until getting a job at Valley Foods Grocery Store. When he came to Firewater, he started out as cook on the cold side of the kitchen, but under sous chef John Jump, he is now on the line.
"When this place (Firewater) opened, I wanted to get back into the kitchen," Sharp said. "I recommend getting a summer job and see if it works for you to have during the school year, but school should remain the focus."
Sharp is a senior and is saving his earnings to buy a car.
It is apparent the Valley has a major influx of tourists that the north doesn't see and it means more jobs for the youth that reside there versus the north in Carbon County. There are no hotels in Hanna, so many tourists bypass the old mining town. Medicine Bow and Elk Mountain do have hotels and eating places, but nowhere the number of the Valley.
Goodro said although it wasn't easy to find jobs in Hanna, if you kept trying, eventually some work would happen.
The boys from the north said their jobs would dry up once the summer was up whereas the boys from the Valley said they would be working during the school year.
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