The Tin Man

Remembering Donnie pflug

If you spent any time with Donnie, you learned pretty quickly that he noticed things most people missed. If something didn’t fit, it stayed with him until it made sense.

That showed up everywhere - not just on his jobs. Dinner table conversations were usually him working through the day's problems. He taught his kids and guys new to the trade the same way - walk through all the likely outcomes first, and the answer will usually show itself before anything is

done.

He’d built a lot over the years, from timber frames to custom finish work, but metal roofing was where he felt at home. It wasn't something you rushed into - it had to be studied before anything started. After a while, people started calling him Tin Man. They’d call him when something didn’t make sense, an odd transition, a line landed wrong, or a spot someone else couldn't figure out.

The Tin Man would rush in. He’d look at it, think it through, and change the plan until it worked. He paid attention to the details because the small parts caused trouble later.  If something was forced into place, it showed up somewhere else. Taking the time upfront saved the trouble later. Sometimes, doing it right meant going out when most people would not.

One November, an island house on Lake Winnipesaukee had roof damage and needed to be closed in before winter. Most people and boats were already off the lake for the season, but leaving this house open wasn’t an option. Donnie and his crew went out to secure it before the weather turned.

While they were out there, the wind picked up and it wasn’t safe to cross back to the mainland. With permission to stay, they spent the night inside using what they could find - a few canned goods, a bottle of rum, and a couple Gilligan's Island jokes, to pass the time.

By morning, the weather cleared, and the boat was still at the dock - sitting at the bottom of the lake. With winter approaching and few boats still running that late in the season, a barge had to come over to retrieve six men, their tools, and recover a sunken boat.

The house was protected for the winter, and that was the whole reason he went out there in the first place.

That was not unusual for him. If something mattered to someone else, he took it seriously. He didn’t leave problems waiting for better timing, and he didn't pretend that small things couldn’t become big problems later.

People trusted him with their homes- but more than that, they trusted him to care about the outcome the same way they did.



He’s not here to stand on the roof anymore, but the way he worked is.