SAN FRANCISCO – Like so many kids, Kells Phelan often joined his father at work assignments and pushed to literally follow in his footsteps. Jim Phelan kept saying no. After all, his job required climbing the light towers at Candlestick Park, the longtime home of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers.
In 2013, the 49ers’ final year at the antiquated and eventually demolished stadium, Jim finally relented after one more denial left his son in tears. Kells was 12 at the time. “So I said, ‘OK, go get your harness,’’’ said Jim, still an active steeplejack at 72 after more than half a century in the business.
“I stayed right with him. The third time I climbed alongside him, on my way up the tower he looks at me and says, ‘Leave me alone, I’m fine.’ So I backed up and stayed behind him as he went to the top.
’’ And thus began a fourth generation of Phelan steeplejacks. The fading trade, named after the pointed structures that often cap church towers, goes back hundreds of years and by some accounts can be traced to . The work calls for climbing any manner of tall objects and edifices – frequently flagpoles but also towers, smokestacks and even the occasional cross – to install, repair, paint, maintain or inspect them.
In addition to being comfortable with heights, steeplejacks need a working knowledge of construction, how to use a variety of tools and often electrical skills. At Candlestick Park and other sports facilities, Jim Phelan has changed the stadi.
