Ken Middleton

Ken Middleton is City Side Remodeling’s master of trivia and eclectic information, some of which he likely gained as a result of living in so many different locations. Born in San Diego, Ken grew up in a military family that was often transported from base to base. He served as a telephone operator in the US Navy from 1967-68 on one of the oldest commissioned ships at the time (it was one of the last with wooden decks).

Ken studied economics at the University of California, San Diego and University of Colorado. In the 1970’s he played violin as a street busker in Aspen and Vail, but he also been a carpenter since 1973. He has lived in Monterey, Lake Tahoe, and the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Oahu, where he learned how to speak pidgin Hawaiian.

Ken met Galen and Gaspar while volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and has worked with them since 2000. He thrives on the variety of activities that remodeling projects offer and excels at framing back-out. On job sites Ken can be identified by his trademark beret, and he usually teams up with Galen on projects.

When not working, Ken likes to repair violins and build bicycles. He is good self-taught fiddle player and loves to play swing, jazz, and gypsy tunes.

Ken’s cultural recommendation: the guitarist Django Reinhardt