When Jennifer Bonner got her start in the water well drilling business, she wasn’t planning to make a career out of it.

What do you look for in a drill rig?

Over the past 17 years, Tim Mulville, president and CEO of Missouri City, Texas-based non-profit Wells of Hope, has helped bring potable water wells to communities across Mexico and Africa. While each mission was, of course, unique, Kendleton Farms — the site of his latest venture — is especially out of the ordinary, and not because it is just 30 minutes away.

In 1860, the United States population was 31½ million, the Pony Express made its first run to California, Abraham Lincoln was elected the first Republican president, and South Carolina seceded from the union — putting America on the fast track toward the Civil War. On the western side of Michigan, which had only been a state for 23 years, the Denton boys were installing wells.

Many people make the following mistake: Never use a piece of metal, like a wrench, to measure the levels in a water well.

Some years ago I had a job as a drilling foreman for a large contractor. Sometimes when we would bid a job, they would ask me to go look at the location to see what we needed.

Drilling large commercial and municipal wells in cramped quarters is not for everyone.