Lyonel Doherty, Times Chronicle
What do you get when you combine a Girette with a Kangaroo in Oliver?
A “Giroo-1” – the best of both worlds for Frank Halliburton and Jim McGinnigle, who are far too old to be falling off ladders anymore.
All jokes aside, McGinnigle may be the only person in the world to own this one-of-a-kind machine that he uses to trim the cedar hedges surrounding his home. And it’s all thanks to a cantankerous boom lift and Halliburton who has spent more than half a century building “stuff.”
One day McGinnigle was trimming his hedges when the old orchard machine (Girette) he was using was as cooperative as a badger who had lost its stripe. So he had to call Halliburton to get him out of the jam, and that’s when the veteran tradesman started thinking – there must be a better way to manoeuvre these machines. Well, this was his opportunity to fulfill a dream that he always had.
Halliburton worked at Rotheisler Equipment in the 1970s and built the Kangaroo, a three-wheel boom lift similar to the Girette used to prune fruit trees. At that time he often wished they would change the design to incorporate the best of both machines; a hybrid to allow the operator to manoeuvre up and down, forward and back, and side to side.
When confronted with McGinnigle’s quandary, Halliburton went to work combining the ornery Girette with one of his own Kangaroos. He had all of the pieces; he just needed to figure out a way to design one machine that did everything without all their annoying idiosyncrasies.
Halliburton explained that the Girette has a “crazy” wheel on the back that basically has a mind of its own. He also noted that the machine can’t climb over a block of wood like the Kangaroo can. “With the Girette you have to correct it all the time to make it go straight,” he said.
After cutting and welding the pieces together, changing the configuration of the hydraulics, and throwing in a larger volume pump, Frankenstein’s machine was complete. And no lightning storm was required.
Now McGinnigle can trim his hedges without headaches. He also loves the fact he can rest his gas-powered trimmer on the machine without straining his muscles.
“From my point of view it’s an anti-gravity device,” he said, noting it saves him from untimely and painful visits to the hospital. “You see, flying is great, but it’s the landing [that isn’t so great].”
Halliburton hazards to guess that this is the only machine of its type on the planet. But he has no plans to mass-produce it and get rich. “I’m getting older, longer in the tooth, and advanced maturity is not what it’s cracked up to be.”
Halliburton’s varied career has taken him from the Coast Guard to building electric motors for Skytrain. He also spent 26 years working for General Coach in Oliver as well as Transwest Helicopters
Out of all of his experiences, though, he will never forget the day a photo of his work on the Giroo brought tears to the eyes of a fellow tradesman (at Rotheisler Equipment) who had always wanted to see that come to fruition.
Standing behind the hybrid “Giroo-1” are, from left, Jim McGinnigle, Bradley Baxendale, and Frank Halliburton.
(Lyonel Doherty photo)
