Don Thomas still does things just as he did them 25 years ago when he established his small contracting company. He has no employees, no bosses, and no financial advisors. He manages every aspect his business on his own, just the way he likes it.

     While sitting in the small office of his company Don unfolded the tale of his dream to become an architectural designer, and the road he traveled along the way.

     Don owns Triad Contracting, located on South College. Triad has been housed in this location for two years. Prior to this, Don’s office was at Sud’s City Laundromat on Chestnut, which he also owned.

     Don recently sold Sud’s City in order to devote his time to his first love, architectural design.

     “The Laundromat was taking up too much of my time, I owned it for seven years. I wanted to spend my time designing buildings, that is what I like to do,” said Don.

     Don never dreamed when he moved his new wife and small daughter here in 1964 that he would spend his life in this small city. Oxford, however, ended up being the place he would achieve his life’s work.

     Dressed in jeans and a faded flannel shirt, Don beamed at me as he rested his arm on his drawing table. He laid his graphic pencil down, put on a pair of black-rimmed reading glasses, and folded his tanned hands in his lap.

     “It was so nice of you to interview me,” he said in a modest voice, “I think I have a pretty good story for you.”

     Born and raised the son of a logger in Richmond, Ind., Don had always planned on settling down just as his parents had. Upon his high school graduation he met his wife Josephine, and roughly a year later Don was a husband with a baby on the way. He felt everything was falling into place. He was hired at the same lumberyard as his father, and began working to build a life for his young family. He was happy, but not content.

     You see, Don had big dreams.

     As a child Don had always been interested in building, but his hobby had a twist. He wasn’t satisfied with Lincoln Logs; he built on a much larger scale.

     “When I was about 12, I built this God-awful fort in the woods behind my house from wood scraps my father would bring home. I thought it was free for the taking, but when I saw my mom’s face when she came out looking for firewood, I knew that wood wasn’t for me. We nearly froze that night, but I had myself a fine clubhouse,” Don said with a chuckle.

     Don leaned back in his creaky wooden chair. Something in his blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he reflected on his early contracting career.

     “My little clubhouse soon turned into a business. My friends wanted me to help them build forts for their back yards,” said Don.

     It was there, in a rickety child’s playhouse, a dream was hatched in the young mind of Don Thomas. To his surprise he found that he could actually make some money doing this. He charged 15 cents per fort, (more depending on materials used), and Don’s first contracting business was born.

     Throughout his high school career Don’s creativity flourished. He excelled in math as well as science, and in his free time found himself scribbling down building plans. He knew he had a passion, but college was not an option for the young man, it was an expensive luxury. He instead followed in the footsteps of his father. This decision ultimately led Don to his destiny.

     After one year of working in the lumberyard in Richmond, Don fell into an opportunity to make more money at another job. This sounded great to the 20-year-old, but there was a catch. The job was at Miami Lumber Company in Oxford, Ohio, nearly two hours from his home.

     With much consideration, Don packed up his wife and 3-month-old daughter and drove his rusty Chevy pickup out of Richmond, and into his future. The year was 1964, and Don was embarking on a great adventure.

     The years came and went. Don and Jo were bringing up three daughters in suburban heaven. Don had quickly moved through the ranks at Miami Lumber and held a position that allowed him free time to draw and create his buildings.

     While talking with a co-worker about recent renovations he had made in his home, Don was asked to do some freelance work in another home.

     “The guy wanted me to gut his old farmhouse…they wanted an addition and to combine a few rooms,” said don smiling at the memory. “I knew I could do it, I just knew…it was second nature.”

     He took the job without hesitation, and for $500, finished the job in three months.

     Don looked at me with a wistful grin, as he pulled out the tattered toolbox that housed the relics of his past. His leathered fingers unhinged the top and allowed me to peer inside. The smell of rust and mildew filled the air as he began to empty the contents onto his table. To me it was a jumbled mess of metal and wood, but to Don these were irreplaceable treasures, it was obvious by the way he held each piece with care.

     “These are the same tools I have used for 30 years. I have new ones at home but they just aren’t the same,” explained Don.

     After 10 years of working at Miami Lumber Company, Don quit his job to become a designer at the Chelsea Moore Lumber Company, of Cincinnati. It was here he met Del Ogle, and the beginnings of a successful friendship and business partnership were born. Soon Don left his job at Chelsea Moore to become a full-time contractor. By this time he had done many renovations in Oxford, including adding a large addition to the Lambda Chi Alpha house. He was making a name for himself in Oxford.

     For the next few years Don concentrated on two things, his business and his daughters. He successfully put three girls through college (two at Miami one at Bowling Green) and began to settle into a more laid back lifestyle.

     “I wouldn’t see the point of owning a business and letting someone else run it for me. It is part of my job, I am proud of what I do and that I do it on my own,” said Don.

     Triad has several projects in the works this year, mostly consisting of student rental updates. Apartments on Spring, Elm, Withrow and Chestnut are just a few that will be graced with Don’s creative touch. Also included in the planning of a major renovation of Church Street Station, which will be changed from the one story building we know today to a two story building with a larger bar area, and three apartments on the top level.

     “This is a very large project,” said Don as he pulled out his depiction of the new building. “It probably won’t be constructed for a year or so, but it will be nice.”

     Another project that has been entrusted to Triad is building the Oxford’s new Mexican restaurant, La Piñata, which will be located off of Lynn Street, next to LaRosa’s.

     At 69 years old, Don has no plans of slowing down. He is still drawing, building and managing his businesses.

     “As long as I am still living I will be here…drawing my buildings, watching you students come and go, and hoping you all find your dreams…as I have been so blessed to do.”