'It’s been a dream come true to be able to work on the water'

HARRISON — About four decades ago, Keith Shannon was working as a cook at the Gateway Restaurant and daydreaming about the marina just on the other side of the glass.

“I was running the Gateway Restaurant in Harrison and I would look out the window and say, ‘I wish I was out there doing that,’” Shannon said. His brother wound up letting him go for the job, and walking away with only that dream of working by the waterside, he set to work getting into the dock-making business.

Fast-forward 40 years, and the Shannon-family-owned-and-operated Harrison Dock Builders have ensured that their customers were never pier-less.

At a party Friday that honored both Keith’s hard-earned retirement and the 40th anniversary of the company, old dock-building tools and old company photos festooned tables.

In a business that is all about weathering the effects of time, it’s been a comfort for Shannon to hand the business off to his children and sit back a little more often.

When it comes to building a long-lasting floating dock, the wind is the biggest enemy to longevity.

“Anybody can build a dock that lasts for 10 years, but 30 years is a long time for a floating dock,” Shannon said. To see many of his company’s docks still in good order after 30 years, Shannon believes that to be a testament to their institutional knowledge.

The company at one point totaled about 130 on its payroll and had a branch office in Oregon, though dockworker staff has stabilized at about 30.

Several national park jobs in the last couple of decades are a source of pride for Harrison Dock Builders, including floating masterpieces in Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida, Glacier National Park and Grand Canyon National Park.

The Grand Canyon job holds a special place in Shannon’s heart since he was able to bring his sons, Isaac, Aaron and Ben along to work on that job and camp out overnight at the park during the process.

“It’s been a dream come true to be able to work on the water and be able to be in so many beautiful places," Shannon said. "I was able to get out and retire. Getting out is sometimes harder than anything else and it’s good to have people in the family looking out after our investment. Forty years is, I guess, a lifetime and I’m ready for the retirement gig."