Page 14 - NYCDCC The Carpenter, Spring/Summer 2020

Members

The Mask Hero

LOCAL 157 MEMBER TOM HANLON PRODUCES
HANDMADE MASKS FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS

Local 157 member Tom Hanlon isn’t though. I didn’t think I would.
the type of person to sit around It’s relaxing. But it was a little
twiddling his thumbs while he waits stressful at first because I kept
for the COVID-19 crisis to end. A making mistakes. Then, I learned
carpenter likes to keep his hands how to correct the mistakes and
busy and that is exactly what Tom now I honestly enjoy it.”
did during the pandemic.
With the help of a few YouTube
After being laid off from his job tutorials, Tom went from never
as a foreman, Tom found himself having sewn anything before to
at home full-time, while his wife producing one face mask every Tom said he looks forward to when
Suzanne, a front-line worker, 10 minutes. Now, Tom is a proud he can go back work so he can bring
continued to work. He didn’t stay member of The Mask Squad, an his masks to his fellow members.
idle for long, though. At home, Tom organization founded by a group Most recently, he made masks for a
fixed up an old sewing machine of neighbors in Somerset County, group of nurses at a local hospital.
and found that his carpentry skills New Jersey who are helping to “The nurses put it over their N95s so
also applied to sewing. Suzanne, protect their community by sewing they can reuse the N95. It protects
after learning about an organization and donating homemade cloth their masks and it’s also fashionable,”
called The Mask Squad that was masks. Since joining, Tom can Tom said. “I just hand them out, too.
handing out masks where she acquire materials more easily and is I was in Home Depot a few days
worked, suggested to Tom that receiving more requests than ever ago and saw this older couple. I had
he try sewing masks for essential for his homemade masks. He said a few masks in my truck and I just
workers. The idea stuck and Tom many people are donating money, gave it to them.”
never looked back. but even more are donating fabric.
All masks are packaged in zip lock
“At first there were a lot of mistakes,” “Every morning I wake up and there bags with information about how to
Tom said about sewing. “I enjoy it, are bags of fabric on the porch wash and care for the mask. Some of
and elastic, which is very hard to his masks also include felt filters.
get now,” he said. “Some lady just
dropped off 200 yards of elastic For Tom, mask-making goes a bit
and 20 yards of American flag deeper. Tom joined the District
patterns.”
Council only a few weeks after the
Twin Towers fell on 9/11 and was
Tom credits his carpentry skills with part of the clean-up crew. “I wish
being able to pick up sewing so I made these masks back then,”
fast.
he said. “I have asthma and some
medical problems because of that
“I like to go back to all the carpentry now.
skills,” he said. “You got to do your
typical layout, just like you’re laying It’s why these things should be
out a floor.
available because you don’t know
what’s in the air.”
I’m a foreman, so if your layout is
not right, you got a lot of wasted Tom and Suzanne’s eldest daughter
material and a lot of mistakes at is also high-risk and a big reason why
the end.”
safety matters so much to them.
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