Topping of the Steel

It is interesting to note that after Trump’s overwhelming loss in the midterm elections, he would turn to the reporters to look at the last steel girder that was going to get put up on his ballroom building project. Trump took a dark turn during the ceremony when he indicated in one of his musings about what happens when a beam falls.

Trump went on and on about everything related to the ballroom and only responded to questions related to walls, floors, and the topping of the steel.

But the reporters missed Trump’s metaphor for they didn’t know the meaning about that last beam being put in place. It is just what happened to Trump in the greatest turn around in modern history at the ballot box. Trump took no responsibility for the failure of the Republican Party and indicated that he didn’t lose. The love from his rallies never got transferred to the candidates who were running including those that he handpicked.

The topping of the steel has one end of the beam containing an evergreen tree and the other end the banner of the local iron workers union. The topping of the steel implies a significant step in the building project. In the world of construction, it means the building bones are complete. It has its basis in Scandinavian culture symbolically life, growth, and continuity. The tree symbolizes ongoing life and protection.

For ironworkers and Trump, it is a quasi-religious experience. Trump has done this frequently because of all his building projects. The topping of the steel reminds him of what he thinks he does well.

How do I know this about the importance of the topping of the steel, and the reporters and politicians did not know or they would have mentioned it?  It is why he focused immediately on the topping of the steel ceremony. The steel beam is lifted about twenty feet from the ground. On one end of the beam is placed an evergreen tree. On the other end is the banner of the steelworker’s union. All the steel workers stand around in silence as it is lifted higher.

I know what it means because I conducted a topping the steel ceremony when the last beam was topped for the new chapel. It turned out to be an experience that didn’t cost me a midterm election, but it did stir up quite a potentially embarrassing moment.

The day came when we had invited people involved in the planning of the Class of 1944 Chapel, donors, and the 450 ironworkers for the topping of the steel ceremony. What could go wrong? Potentially a lot.

It was pouring down sheets of rain for the ceremony for the Class of 1944 Chapel on our Newtown Square Campus. It was cold and muddy. All that anyone wanted was to get the ceremony over as fast as possible as it was hard to even see the steel beam. I noticed that one end of the beam also had a long stick placed on the girder. It was a short but meaningful ceremony, rain and all.

The campus runs along a major highway, Route 252, so you could see the campus during your daily drive to and from home and work.

I was in the office when I got a call at 7 in the morning from Chuck Bochan, who supervised the building of Citizen’s Park Stadium, who was in a panic. The ironworkers had packed up their trucks and were getting ready to leave the premises because they say I was unpatriotic. I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. He further said that they have called Action News and they had arrived to film this embarrassment. It turns out that the stick I saw at the topping of the steel ceremony in the rain was the American flag not yet unfurled. They put it at the top of the steeple where the last steel beam was placed.

In addition, people were calling our business manager saying that we were sacrilegious by having a flag on top of a Christian chapel.

The steel workers didn’t know that you don’t put a flag on top of a church steeple. I instructed Chuck to get the head of the union on the phone with me. The last thing that we wanted was for Action News to have story about how unpatriotic EA was.

The head of the union got on the phone with me, and I agreed to meet with him, but he wanted to settle things via phone. I told him that we are one of the most patriotic places around having sent many students to the service academies, had a 9/11 chapel each year as well as a chapel devoted to Veterans Day as well as Memorial Day.

He told me that he would talk with the other leaders and see what they say. I didn’t trust him to get the message right, but he knew the people with whom to discuss the matter.

When he got on the phone again to me, he said, “They want an apology from you!” Part of my upbringing was taking over. What to do? I said that I would apologize for not telling them in the pouring rain that church structures aren’t topped by an American flag ever. That is something that you leaders should have known. They should shoulder some of the blame.”

Chuck Bochan called me and said, “that it was the prettiest scene he ever saw with the steelworkers removing their tools from their trucks and Action News packing up all their cameras and such.” A bullet dodged because of a rainy day.

Fortunately, we had the 450 steel workers to lunch under tents the day of the topping of the steel. I sat with them and knew they were reasonable tough guys. I knew people just like them when I was working in mills, particularly the steel mill to get money for college. You can’t show weakness, unfortunately, so my apology had to put some blame on them and their lack of awareness about placement of crosses and not flags on top of religious structures. I told them to move the flag down ten feet or so as a solution.

Trump never apologizes for anything, ever! There are times that you can stand strong, apologize, and have others, at times, share in the responsibility for an issue. As we move forward watch for how the weak Vance and the Republicans are throwing people and events under the bus. Now they are choosing courage, not really!