For the Taylor family, road construction has become more than a career. Across multiple generations, the family has built a legacy of hard work, pride and service at E.T. Simonds.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — For 34 years, Eddie Taylor built his career with E.T. Simonds Construction. Today, his son Owen and younger members of their family are continuing that tradition, carrying forward the lessons Eddie learned during more than three decades in the field.
Owen Taylor joined E.T. Simonds in 2009 after growing up watching his father work long days in road construction. He remembers Eddie leaving early, coming home late and getting up the next morning to do it all again.
“If you want something, you just have to work for it,” Owen said.
That work ethic followed Owen into his own career. His first interstate assignment as a laborer was on his father’s crew. Years later, when Owen became a foreman and was assigned one of his first major projects on Interstate 57, the roles reversed. Owen brought Eddie onto his crew, relying on his father’s decades of experience as he stepped into a leadership role of his own.
Now another generation is gaining experience with E.T. Simonds. Colton Ferguson has worked with the company through internships while pursuing his education and Gage Taylor has spent time working in the yard while considering a future in the industry.
For Eddie, seeing younger members of the family choose the same company means more than simply following in his footsteps.
“It really makes me feel good that they picked up on our work ethic,” Eddie said.
That sense of pride carries into the projects themselves. Eddie said he approached every job wanting the finished work to look right. Owen shares the same outlook, whether his crew is paving a local school parking lot or working along Interstate 57, where thousands of families rely on the roadway every day.
For Owen, working safely is also personal. He encouraged drivers traveling through construction zones to slow down, pay attention to signs and remember that the people working alongside the road have families waiting for them at home.
Through changing equipment, new projects and a new generation entering the industry, the principles passed through the Taylor family have remained consistent: show up, work hard, learn from the people around you and take pride in doing the job right.