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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 8:18:04 AM

need more small entrepreneurs.
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honda0105
Champion Author Tallahassee

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Message Posted: Sep 8, 2012 12:05:59 AM

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 2:25:50 PM

That is an awesome idea.
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sparky808
Champion Author Honolulu

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 2:12:12 PM

Thank you for posting.
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slowpoke
Veteran Author Virginia

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 10:33:38 AM

What a simple and great idea!
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remay
Champion Author Houston

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 8:37:03 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 7:10:41 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 3:25:16 AM

That's the entrepreneurial spirit!
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comprof
Champion Author Houston

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 1:55:11 AM

Good for his ingenuity.
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rollercoaster
All-Star Author Hartford

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 12:13:12 AM

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

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 12:08:51 AM

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

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 12:04:43 AM

Drill, baby, drill.
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kzrooster
Champion Author Kalamazoo

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 12:03:41 AM

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

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 12:02:42 AM

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 5, 2012 12:01:52 AM

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

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Message Posted: Sep 5, 2012 12:01:42 AM

COOL IDEA!
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kishoreCA
Champion Author Ventura

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:58:02 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 11:56:29 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 11:55:59 PM

Good!
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julesTN
Veteran Author Nashville

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:55:56 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 11:54:53 PM

Good thinking.
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NHLiveFree
Champion Author New Hampshire

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:54:43 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 11:54:22 PM

great idea
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Tucker16
Champion Author Ottawa

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:54:07 PM

Big deal.
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armey
Champion Author Oregon

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:51:33 PM

Cool!
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sappie
Champion Author Massachusetts

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:50:57 PM

ok
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nozzle46
Champion Author Little Rock

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:49:37 PM

Smart kid.
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gass12
Champion Author Omaha

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:48:14 PM

Smart idea.
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fenster66
Champion Author Pittsburgh

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:42:12 PM

entrepreneurship at its finest...
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abcdMA
Champion Author Worcester

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:42:10 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 11:38:01 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 11:37:38 PM

Are they coed?
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Holly123
Champion Author Charlotte

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:36:39 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 11:35:10 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 11:32:15 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 11:31:14 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 11:28:21 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 11:27:44 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 11:23:55 PM

Ok.
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fuel2use
Champion Author Seattle

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:23:42 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 11:23:28 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 11:21:26 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 11:13:48 PM

good!!!
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Buddy2264
Champion Author Tampa

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:13:12 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 11:12:50 PM

Opportunities are born out of necessity.
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larharris2
Veteran Author Tennessee

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:12:33 PM

Good idea. Good initiative.
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bojiway1
Champion Author Minnesota

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Message Posted: Sep 4, 2012 11:09:59 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 11:05:57 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 11:05:40 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 11:02:12 PM

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