Before he could find a better job, William Mulholland worked as a ditch digger. During this job, Mullholland studied hydraulic engineering, which led him to join the Los Angeles Water Company. At one point, a man, who turned out to be one of Mulholland’s supervisors, walked by and asked for Mulholland's name. Not knowing that he was a subordinate of that man, Mullholland answered rudely by turning around and swearing at his boss, yet was given a promotion because of his single-minded diligence. After two years of his new job, he was given the task of working on the city's reservoirs. From there, he started working with a man named Fred Eaton as a pupil. Mullholland then moved to another job to oversee “some key construction projects''. Fred Eaton and Mulholland soon became good friends, but soon after, Eaton left his job from the water company, and W.J. Kelly took his spot. When Kelly died a year later to a heart attack, they finally promoted Mulholland to the superintendent, which would be his job for more than four decades.
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Fred Eaton was a polished, vibrant, man, and was the LAWC’s first superintendent. What made him different from William Mullholland was that Fred was formally educated. He was able to attend school to be an engineer. Fred was lucky to be born into such a wealthy family. Fred enjoyed others' company, and Mullholland preferred to be alone rather than with other people. After being a superintendent for quite a while, Fred Eaton became William’s mentor and one of his friends. Later in the years William and Fred often fought but their friendship from when they were younger always reminded them of what they had done for each other. In 1833, Fred Eaton left the LAWC and became a Los Angeles surveyor and engineer. Eaton soon became very successful and took up the role of an office man and engineer who greatly helped Los Angeles become what it is today.
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