Benicia resident Peter Bray gained some notoriety after one of his songs, “Laid Off American Man,” was mentioned in a column by Herb Caen. Bray wrote the song in 1994 after Bechtel fired him.

BENICIA >> It's been 20 years since Peter Bray left the corporate world with a song in his heart. It brought him fame.

Yes, the longtime Benician wrote and recorded a song after being fired from Bechtel. The title was “Dismissed American Man.” He sent a cassette copy to legendary San Francisco Chronicle gossip columnist Herb Caen, who reprinted the lyrics and called Bray “my hero today.”

“He gave me the top six inches of it,” said Bray, a cheerful handyman and Benicia poetry group regular.

There is more. Within a week, Bray said he received a postcard from noted upstate New York folk singer Pete Seeger that said, “I just read Herb Caen. How do I get a copy of your song?” I thought, “How cool!” “

Two weeks later, Bray received another message in the mail from Seeger requesting a second copy.

“I thought, 'Okay, he liked it, he'll send it to Arlo Guthrie, Arlo will record it and I'll be home free!' I'm rich and fat and famous!” “

Unfortunately, “it didn’t happen,” Bray chuckled. “It’s a great thing, but I fix toilets.”

Bray, 71, still loves poetry and songwriting. He's been at it for more than 40 years, filling pieces of paper – and later notebooks – with rhymes about his children and other things that piqued his interest. He still performs at open mics where he uses humor to connect with listeners.

“If you can get the whole room to shut up and become quiet because you really speak in a low voice and bring it up, you can get the whole crowd of 30 people to move with you,” Bray said. who has self-published three volumes of poetry since 1972. “And then when you add something funny and make the same 30 people laugh, that’s just a kick in the butt!”

A native of Walnut Creek, Bray earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966. He worked in the defense industry for several years, designing rockets, before setting up his own business as a design engineer and graphic illustrator. He eventually got a job at Bechtel in San Francisco, where he worked as a graphics manager. After 10 years, he was laid off as part of a major downsizing.

“So I wrote ‘Laid Off American Man,’” said Bray, who has been writing poetry since the early ’70s. The song begins like this: “I do windows, I do floors, I do hallways, I do doors, I do everything I can, I'm a laid off American man!”

“I had a cassette, I had a cover and I sent it to Herb Caen,” Bray said. “And about a week later, I called one of my designers (at Bechtel) after I left and said, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ He said, ‘PR is on alert.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about ?” He said, “You didn't see Herb Caen this morning? You'd better.” So I went to Raley, got the Chronicle, opened it up and he typed up all my texts.”

The final verses read: “I was vice president in charge of BD, with a mission statement and a cell phone, a company watch and a company loan, I was vice president in charge of BD.” Now I'm a gardener in the promised land, all my tools are in a one man van, now I do windows, I do floors, I do hallways, I do doors, do everything I can, I'm a laid off American!”

Not everything Bray writes or performs is funny. “Weeping at Starbucks” conveys his pain in the hours after his daughter's death from Crohn's disease in February 2012. It begins: “After house coffee and apple sales and ten thousand words of condolence via email, cell phone.”, cards and letters, it runs to that “Crying at Starbucks while the quiet chatter and overheard music compete.”

What drives his creativity? “It’s therapeutic for me and entertaining,” Bray said. “And maybe…it’ll be helpful to someone else.”

Contact Tony Burchyns at 707-553-6831.

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BENICIA (CBS SF) — Nearly 24 hours after it ignited in flames, firefighters finally extinguished a four-alarm blaze Sunday afternoon that gutted a commercial pier along the Benicia waterfront.

Left behind in the fire’s wake was a jumbled pile of burned and charred timbers and melted asphalt.

The US Coast Guard issued a warning boaters traveling in the busy channel to also be aware of the debris floating in the water.

“The fire caused extensive damage to the facility,” said Cmdr. Rhianna Macon, U.S. Coast Guard Deputy Incident Commander. “As such, there is an uncertain amount of debris in the area that could be potentially hazardous to boaters. We urge mariners to remain vigilant and stay safe on the water.”

Fire officials said the blaze was declared contained at 9:40 am and was declared extinguished at 12:24 pm The Solano County Fire Investigation Unit was currently working to determine the cause and origin.

According to Benicia Fire Chief Jose Chadwick the incident began around 2:20 pm Saturday with crews being called to the wharf area for a fire near the petcoke silos. Petcoke is a byproduct of the oil refining process.

Port workers reported they first saw flames burning the conveyor belt that was transporting petroleum coke onto a ship.

“That fire was quickly extinguished but we had a very difficult time accessing the conveyor belt system,” he said. “The large rubber tracks (of the conveyor belts) were on fire. The fire dropped from that conveyor belt and ultimately caught the pier on fire.”

The fire burned in the wooden support structure that had been treated years ago with creosote — a wood preservative.

“There are large timbers that are creosote soaked logs and when they start burning it’s very difficult to extinguish,” Chadwick said. “That’s what’s burning now.”

A KPIX camera captured footage of what appeared to be black dust floating on the water. The San Francisco Baykeeper also shared drone footage showing black streaks floating near the fire.

Benicia city officials said the US Coast Guard and the Fish and Wildlife were monitoring the environmental impact on the bay.

“It has been a very, very difficult situation to extinguish,” Chadwick said.

The only way to fight was via fire boats, which have limited access depending on the tide. Six fire boats from around the Bay Area were sent to the scene, as well as US Coast Guard vessels.

A fire boat battles a 4-alarm blaze in Benicia Saturday

Aside from the flames, the massive smoke plume was also of concern.

“The biggest potential threat to the community was air quality,” Chadwick said. “The smoke emitting from the fire contained particulate matter and the potential of toxicity from chemicals. We were fortunate in having continuous wind blowing from the west, allowing the smoke to blow towards the water and dissipate before impacting other populated areas.”

Neighbors where also thankful the winds blew the smoke away from Benicia. Particularly those at a wedding that took place right above the port fire.

The bride and groom said they weren’t expecting to see an active fire burning so close on their big day.

“Thankfully, God is blowing (the fire) the other way. But we’re getting a lot of coverage of the wedding and the fire,” said Steve Roberts, the groom’s godfather.

“Thank the lord we’re good to go. They’re married. We get to party now and have a good time,” said Matt Roberts, groom’s godbrother.

The dock is owned by the city of Benicia and leased to Amports, which uses it to offload imported vehicles from freighters. It is also used by the Valero Benicia Refinery.

Many car dealerships have already faced a shortage of new cars. Amports’ general manager said no comment when reached by phone. It was unclear if the fire would worsen the shortage of new cars at Bay Area dealerships.

“It’s certainly going to be an economic impact on Amports and Valero,” said Mario Giuliani, the deputy city manager for Benicia.

Despite the potential economic fallout, city officials said there were no injuries and health concerns for Benicia residents.

© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. KPIX reporter Da Lin contributed to the story

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Bill Cawley of Benicia Plumbing. (Courtesy photo)

BENICIA – Benicia Plumbing is not only intended for the city of Benicia, it meets all the sanitary needs of the Solano County.

The business was opened in 1975 by a married couple, Bill Cawley II and Leeann Cawley. Today, her children and a few grandchildren keep the 46-year-old’s business going.

“It was really great going to work with my dad as a kid,” said Bill Cawley III. “I have to see my father every day.”

Cawley worked for his father in many roles as a teenager, including digging holes. He later attended Texas A&M, graduated with a degree in construction management, and then returned to California to use his skills in the family business.

The elderly Cawley and his wife are now retired, but Leeann still does the bookkeeping.

The company was opened in Benicia with headquarters and warehouse. You now have a service and repair office in Vacaville, which opened last April.

“We have a warehouse in Morgan Hill that supports our new build in South Bay,” said the younger Cawley.

They will continue to expand their service and repair offerings across Solano County and expand into the Sacramento area, but are still looking for space.

The pandemic has not affected their workload, it has increased it.

“Fortunately, as we are an important business, we haven’t closed so the business has been very busy. Our technicians wear all protective gear to protect themselves and others, ”said Cawley.

It currently employs 160 people, including 15 service technicians, 100 new-build plumbers and 45 auxiliary workers.

Over the years they’ve grown as a company because they’re essential: from the Y2K threat to the 2008 recession, labor shortage, non-union competition and navigating Covid, they have always been there for their customers.

“There have been huge changes that have definitely made things better – mostly technology, communication, new materials. All of our technicians and foremen have iPads for all of their papers, sales, season tickets, orders, and offers to customers, ”said Cawley. “Regulatory changes have significantly increased the construction costs.”

The family motto has always been “People take care of people” and it will stay that way in the future.

Benicia plumbing

Main Office: 265 W. Channel Road, Benicia
Phone: 745-2930
Website: www.beniciaplumbing.com
Opening times: Monday to Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 4.20 p.m.

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BENICIA >> It has been 20 years since Peter Bray left the corporate world with a song in his heart. It earned him a brush of fame.

Yes, longtime Benizier wrote and recorded a song after being fired from Bechtel. It was titled “Laid Off American Man”. He sent a tape copy to the San Francisco Chronicle’s legendary gossip columnist Herb Caen, who reprinted the texts and called Bray “my hero today.”

“He gave me the top six inches of it,” said Bray, a cheerful craftsman and regular with the Benicia poetry group.

There is more. Within a week, Bray said he had received a postcard from popular New York state folk singer Pete Seeger and said, “I was just reading Herb Caen. How do I get a copy of your song? “I thought,” How cool! “

Two weeks later, Bray received another message in the mail from Seeger asking for a second copy.

“I thought,” OK, he liked it, he’ll send it to Arlo Guthrie, Arlo will record it, and I’m home free! I am rich and fat and famous! “”

Unfortunately, “It didn’t happen,” chuckled Bray. “It’s great fun, but I fix toilets.”

71-year-old Bray still enjoys poetry and songwriting. He’s been around for more than 40 years, filling scraps of paper – and later notebooks – with rhymes about his children and other things that caught his interest. He still performs with open microphones, where he interacts with the audience with humor.

“If you can silence the whole room and get quiet by speaking really softly and bringing it up, you can get the whole collection of 30 people to move with you,” said Bray. Who has published three volumes of poetry since 1972? “And if you slide something funny into it and make the same 30 people laugh, it’s just a kick in the butt!”

Originally from Walnut Creek, Bray earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1966. He worked in the defense industry for several years, designing missiles, before becoming a freelance designer and graphic illustrator. He eventually got a job at Bechtel in San Francisco, where he was a graphics manager. After 10 years he was fired during a major downscaling.

“So I wrote Laid Off American Man,” said Bray, who has been into poetry since the early 1970s. The song starts like this: “I make windows, I make floors, I make hallways, I make doors, I do everything I can, I” Ma Laid Off American Man! ”

“I had a tape, I had a cover, and I sent it to Herb Caen,” said Bray. “And about a week later I called one of my designers (at Bechtel) after I left and said,” Hey, how are you? “He said, ‘PR is on the alert.” I said, “What are you talking about?” He said, “You didn’t see Herb Caen this morning? You’d better. “So I went to Raley and got the chronicle, opened it and he put all of my lyrics in.”

The final verses read, “I was vice president for BD, with a mission statement and a cell phone, a company watch, and a company loan. I was vice president for BD. Now I’m a gardener in the promised land, all of my tools are in a one man van, now I make windows, I make floors, I make hallways, I make doors, do everything I can, I’m Laid Off American Man! ”

Not everything Bray writes or performs is funny. “Crying at Starbucks” conveys his pain in the hours following his daughter’s death from Crohn’s disease in February 2012. It begins: “After selling coffee and apples in the house and sending ten thousand condolences through email, cell phone, cards, and letters, it It all comes down to crying over Starbucks while the quiet chatter and the overheard music compete with each other. “

What drives his creativity? “It’s therapeutic to me and it’s entertaining itself,” said Bray. “And maybe … it’s helpful to someone else.”

Contact Tony Burchyns at 707-553-6831.

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