Craig Daily Press / Not even heart surgery slows him down

Archive for Wednesday, September 8, 2004

September 8, 2004

Jesse Mascarenas spent a few minutes resting in the shade of his car port before getting back to work sharpening saw blades Wednesday afternoon.

He's used to work. since he first visited Craig in 1939 at the age of 19, he's labored for a living. First it was herding sheep. Later it was putting in 32 years in the coal mines. In between, he did some rodeoing and won several belt buckles for his skills as a roper.

Somewhere along the way, he found the time to build his house, which now sits at 10th and Washington streets.

When he built it, there were few houses in the vicinity. Now he's surrounded by neighbors.

"I've seen it grow," he says of Craig. "And it's still growing."

At age 84, he's recovering from a triple bypass operation surgeons performed on his heart four months ago, but even that hasn't slowed him down. Last weekend he spent several hours cutting logs for the winter.

"I'm feeling good. Every day I feel a little better. After the surgery, they gave me a few different types of pills to keep the blood real thin and then my blood got so thin I started bleeding inside. When I went to the hospital they told me if I'd waited much longer, I wouldn't have made it."