Rig Pigs

Rig hands, or "Rig Pigs" as they were called when I was growing up, are an interesting bunch. Many of the first were farmers who would harvest in the spring and summer then work "the patch" in the fall and the winter. Working the rigs was hard dangerous work. Many people have died doing it. The clamps,like the ones in the above picture, would be suspended on chains and swinging around your head. During the 80's many riggers who are largely uneducated fell into the trap of large pay cheques coupled with drug and alcohol abuse. The patch has done a lot of work to change the perception of rig hands but it is still an extremely hard unforgiving job site. Many a 18 year old boy have dropped out of school to take up a job on the rigs.