How I chose the name, Budro’s

I’ve been asked many time on how I came up with the name, Budro’s.

It’s a story of frustration and a small bit of rage actually. Well, at least from a pre-teen boys point-of -view! My earliest memories are from when I was around 10 years old and continued well into my adulthood.

My uncle Kenny…

I didn’t realize how this man, uncle Kenny would become such a gigantic influence in my life, resonating in every aspect. My aunt Sherol, his wife, has no shortage of great effects on my life as well. (More to come)

Don’t get me wrong already, he had faults. Mainly he was grumpy 90% of the day. The other 10% was only from 4:30 am - 8:00 am when he could aggravate his young nephews. Which I have adopted this personality trait and have expounded upon it! We slept on the living room floor on a 80 pound feather bed that he added goose down feathers to every year from duck and goose hunting. There was only 1 air conditioner in their 800 square foot home and it was in their bedroom. The living room had a swamp cooler and I honestly don’t ever remember being too hot. He only had a black and white TV with rabbit ears for many years. They eventually upgraded to color and not to mention, added a VCR! I felt so sorry for them thinking they were missing out on the finer things in life, like a dishwasher, color TV, central heat & air. They hung their clothes on the line when the weather permitted and us nephews had our fair duty of chores. We cooked some, did all the dishes, rinsed the tub clean after our bath, (they didn’t have a standup shower until later) hung and pulled clothes off of the line, even our aunt’s underwear!

He was a plumber from as long as I can remember, but often heard stories of his home building framing crews he ran before the home building bust in the 80’s. Staying with them thru the summers, we had only 1 place to go during the week and that was with uncle Kenny. We carried his toolbox, drop light, rags and whatever else was needed for house calls. Faucet repair, toilet rebuild or whatever repair the customer needed. We crawled under houses, dug up sewer lines, water lines and gas lines. He taught me how to respect a customer, respect their home to the tune of not walking on their lawn, taking shoes off, making eye contact while smiling and talking clear and loud to the elderly customers.

The birth of the name, Budro

Uncle Kenny, when he was razzing me up, would say something like “ Isn’t that right, Budro?” For some reason, that fired me up, might as well called me yellow. So he used that name from time to time and as I got older, he would say “ Wanna swap licks, Budro?” To be fair, some people know what that is, others are imagining something a little off. It meant trade punches in the arm. I would always shy away and grin, shaking my head Noooooo! At 15 years old, I was ready to swap licks! He asked, I obliged with a solid up and down nod of the head. That was the last time he asked for that and I proceeded to go on the attack from that day forward. I squeeze him in some sort or fashion or gouge his ribs when we are around each other. He is pretty keen on where my hands are when I’m in close proximity!

Coming up with the perfect name….

When I started Budro’s Woodshop, before I knew what to call it, I went thru a few really good names to call it, like “Grady’s Wood”or “Good Wood”. Thankfully those didn’t pan out and I only thought on it for a few days before I came up with the perfect name, Budro’s Woodshop. Credit for the name goes to my uncle Kenny with no royalties…

Now, it does get mis-pronounced often, even by those who absolutely know the correct way to say it, but it always been fun for people to ask about it. I don’t expect that to ever change!