Since he was 6 years old, Evan Smith has been captivated by O’Grady Paving Incorporated.
The Mountain View resident first noticed the company while passing a job site with his mother and immediately asked her to stop so he could take a closer look. More than a decade later, what began as a childhood fascination has turned into a lasting relationship with the crew behind the Mountain View-based paving company.
Over the years, Smith has become a familiar face on job sites, returning whenever possible to observe the group at work.
Smith said he has always been interested in construction and paving.
“There’s a lot that goes into it and a lot of cool equipment,” he said. “Some guys say as you get older, you just get bigger toys.”
Part of the excitement, Smith said, is figuring out where the company will be working next. He determines O’Grady’s projects by checking city websites for public bidding records to see which companies get jobs. And, Smith said, “Sometimes you see the no parking signs. So you follow the no parking signs.”
Beyond the equipment, Smith said he has enjoyed getting to know the O’Grady crew.
“A lot of them speak Spanish and I’ve been taking Spanish in school,” said Smith, a junior at Woodside Priory School. “My Spanish has gotten better, so that’s kind of fun. I can really connect.”
When Smith was younger, the crew even gave him his own construction vest labeled “O’Grady Paving” in a size 2XL. Smith joked that they must have had some foresight, knowing he would keep coming back as he grew.
“The crew enjoys him coming around,” said Thomas O’Grady, who owns and operates the business founded by his father in 1956.
While Smith doesn’t quite know what he wants to do as a profession, O’Grady Paving has influenced how he imagines his working life.
“I definitely don’t want an office job,” he said. “I think it’s so much more fun to be able to work with my hands and to be outside. One of the things I like about it is that it’s something different every day.”
To O’Grady, Smith seems like a rarity.
“In general, kids growing up now are more into the internet and social media, and they want to work at Google, or they want to do something computerized, while we’re actually doing the physical work,” O’Grady said.
Smith encouraged the broader Los Altos community to recognize “how much goes into just making everyday things seem every day.”
“We take it for granted,” he said. “People only notice when the roads are really chewed up or when they’re being inconvenienced by the construction, but there’s a lot of work that goes into it.”
The last time Smith saw O’Grady and his crew was in November, after a three-year gap.
“They were all so excited to see me. I’m 17 now, so they’ve seen me grow for 10 years,” Smith said.
For O’Grady, it’s a two-way street.
“It was just cool seeing him and talking to him and seeing how grown up he is,” he said.
Ten years in and going strong, Smith said he plans to visit O’Grady Paving whenever he can.
“I have to thank my mom for always being willing to drive me to jobs,” Smith said. “And, now I have my own driver’s license so I can get myself places.”
Smith said he’s not yet done following the no-parking signs.
