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Teen opens mobile shower for grimy North Dakota oil workers

The Seattle Times -- It took little more than a day for 18-year-old Evan Jensen to smell opportunity in North Dakota's booming oil patch.

The recent high-school graduate got a whiff of himself and his 21-year-old brother, Justin. The two had been sleeping in a pickup while looking for work in the oil fields of western North Dakota.

"We smelled," he said. "Bad."

Thousands of workers have descended on the region to seek their fortune in the oil fields, and housing construction and growth of brick-and-mortar businesses haven't kept up.

The closest shower to Jensen was at a truck stop some 60 miles away. It was expensive and filthy and the wait was several hours long.

That's when the idea for a mobile shower hit him harder than the reek of his own B.O.

"There are a lot of necessities that aren't available...


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Submitted Sep 04, 2012 By: 1studman
Category: Daily News Article Discussions > Topics Add to favorite topics  
Author Topic: Teen opens mobile shower for grimy North Dakota oil workers Post a Reply Back to Topics
REPLIES (newest first)
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honda0105
Champion Author Tallahassee

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Message Posted: Sep 9, 2012 5:18:04 AM

need more small entrepreneurs.
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honda0105
Champion Author Tallahassee

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Message Posted: Sep 7, 2012 9:05:59 PM

good for the kid. Need more out of the box thinking.
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RegularGasUser
All-Star Author Albany

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 11:25:50 AM

That is an awesome idea.
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sparky808
Champion Author Honolulu

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 11:12:12 AM

Thank you for posting.
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slowpoke
Veteran Author Virginia

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 7:33:38 AM

What a simple and great idea!
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remay
Champion Author Houston

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 5:37:03 AM

He wasn't around in the 80's, when the boom was going on then, and similar things went on like this - renting rooms for 30 minutes so people could use showers, etc...
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tomok
Champion Author Portland

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 4:10:41 AM

While looking for work, what affects you the most? Realize what you have a lack of and can provide for others at a cost.
Whatever the size or shape of the vehicle, Produce and ‘Drive’ vehicles with high MPG, are very safe, reliable, has a ‘reasonable’ cost and a good ‘value’ for the money.
The price of fuel at the pump is too high!
12/22/2012!
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SkooterG
Champion Author Phoenix

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 12:25:16 AM

That's the entrepreneurial spirit!
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comprof
Champion Author Houston

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 10:55:11 PM

Good for his ingenuity.
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rollercoaster
All-Star Author Hartford

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 9:13:12 PM

he didn't build that!!!
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rahcat
Champion Author Grand Rapids

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 9:08:51 PM

Only in America. Good job guys.
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N5EXY
Champion Author Austin

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 9:04:43 PM

Drill, baby, drill.
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kzrooster
Champion Author Kalamazoo

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 9:03:41 PM

Thats the American way - He Built it!
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Math6149
All-Star Author Jacksonville

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 9:02:42 PM

Please send obama to get some of the stink off.
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bra0712
Champion Author Arizona

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 9:01:52 PM

Sucks to clean the shower I bet lol
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Blue48
Champion Author Illinois

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 9:01:42 PM

COOL IDEA!
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kishoreCA
Champion Author Ventura

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:58:02 PM

excellent - smart guys. wish them good luck.
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radiorumor
Champion Author Texas

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:56:29 PM

Built it and they will come. That’s what I love about this country.
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76chevy
Champion Author Toledo

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:55:59 PM

Good!
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julesTN
Veteran Author Nashville

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:55:56 PM

wow - we could take that wonderful youthful innovation and clean up our governmental messes, huh?
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jjjleblanc
Champion Author Rochester

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:54:53 PM

Good thinking.
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NHLiveFree
Champion Author New Hampshire

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:54:43 PM


A shame all the drilling companies are so cheap that they will not provide some really basic necessities of life for their workers! But, of course, that is how these cheap and thoughtless firms roll. Good luck to all the small communities they have descended on!
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mstearno
Champion Author Dayton

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:54:22 PM

great idea
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Tucker16
Champion Author Ottawa

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:54:07 PM

Big deal.
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armey
Champion Author Oregon

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:51:33 PM

Cool!
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sappie
Champion Author Massachusetts

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:50:57 PM

ok
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nozzle46
Champion Author Little Rock

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:49:37 PM

Smart kid.
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gass12
Champion Author Omaha

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:48:14 PM

Smart idea.
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fenster66
Champion Author Pittsburgh

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:42:12 PM

entrepreneurship at its finest...
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abcdMA
Champion Author Worcester

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:42:10 PM

He didn't create this, someone else helped him!!! a la Obama
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rx7racerca
Champion Author Calgary

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:38:01 PM

If you can't find a job, make your own. Good head for spotting an opportunity.
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Kamakani
Champion Author Denver

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:37:38 PM

Are they coed?
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Holly123
Champion Author Charlotte

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:36:39 PM

Lol mpg611! Funniest thing I've heard all day!
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mpg611
Champion Author Cleveland

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:35:10 PM

Just keep Jerry Sandusky away from those showers.
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NedW
Champion Author Indianapolis

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:32:15 PM

I dipped in a creek when I first started working in an oil patch.
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bonzoonfmb
Champion Author Florida

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:31:14 PM

Nothing bad could possibly happen in that scenario.
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ggwbike
Sophomore Author Montana

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:28:21 PM

Good to someone filling a need. I hope he can adapt it for below zero weather.
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SpankyMI
Champion Author Kalamazoo

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:27:44 PM

Where there is a need someone will fill it and hopefully make a few bucks doing it.
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MountedShooter
Champion Author Georgia

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:23:55 PM

Ok.
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fuel2use
Champion Author Seattle

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:23:42 PM

Good thinking. Sees an opportunity, finds a solution.
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suzmar
Champion Author Texas

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:23:28 PM

Some smart guys came up with a good idea. Let's hope the government doesn't squelch their entrepreneurship.
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itsjustme719
All-Star Author Hamilton

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:21:26 PM

Glad to see somebody can make some money without lining the pockets of some big corporation. Way to go!
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GOBUTLER
Champion Author Indianapolis

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:13:48 PM

good!!!
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Buddy2264
Champion Author Tampa

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:13:12 PM

Good first step and there must also be a way to create more temporary housing, what about all those old FEMA trailers and other mobile homes. Start a mobile home city for now.
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OGW
Champion Author London

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:12:50 PM

Opportunities are born out of necessity.
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larharris2
Veteran Author Tennessee

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:12:33 PM

Good idea. Good initiative.
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bojiway1
Champion Author Minnesota

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:09:59 PM

Imagine how it was for the California gold rush.
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KAR120CSII
Champion Author Oregon

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:05:57 PM

Agree Chas -- some folks have to put politics into everything. Isn't it time to lighten up? This is a great post. Thanks.

[Edited by: KAR120CSII at 9/4/2012 11:06:50 PM EST]
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SandeeC
Champion Author Ontario

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:05:40 PM

Great idea - good for him. I sure hope that someone can take over his business and keep it going for the sake of those workers who need it.
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mcmonsta
Champion Author Honolulu

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 8:02:12 PM

fill a need and you can make some $, good thinking and execution
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