BONNERS FERRY — Daniel Woelfle has been working most of his life, much like many in the community. 

“For a long time, I worked for my grandpa,” Woelfle said. “I would shovel sawdust and vacuum sawdust from the sawmill or the shop, and then I’d get 50 cents a bucket or $1.25 for each square I shoveled.” 

It wasn’t a stretch to begin shoveling snow and Woelfle said he has been shoveling snow since he was 6 years old. 

“I shoveled snow just for my family and my grandparents,” he said. “When we moved here to Bonners Ferry, I started shoveling other people’s driveways just to fill spare time.” 

He started shoveling for stores because he saw a gap that he could help fill.  

“I thought that businesses need to have their fronts shoveled by 9 a.m., so what if I just get it done for them? That way they don’t have to come in earlier,” Woelfle said. 

Woelfle began offering his services to local businesses, starting with the Boundary County Library.

“I first just did the library, which was good,” he said. “I did that for a little while, then I took about a year break from snow shoveling. Last year, I started going to businesses again and getting $10 or $15 for shoveling snow.” 

To make it work, Woelfle often wakes up at 3 a.m. 

“Either I'm already up and I just stay up the whole night, or I just sleep when I get home from school,” Woelfle said. 

That schedule is made more challenging by the fact that he also works a part-time job in Sandpoint and plays competitive tennis, for which he sometimes travels. 

Woelfle said he does not get paid by all of the businesses he shovels for. 

“Even if they're not customers, I still would shovel sometimes just so it looks better, so there’s not patches everywhere,” Woelfle said. 

Time spent shoveling can depend on the type of snow, how big a storefront is and what the weather is like.

“For the bigger areas, it can take about 20 minutes,” Woelfle said. “The smaller ones can take five minutes or less.” 

Part of the job is figuring out how to shovel snow quickly, safely and effectively, something that Woelfle prides himself on. 

“Problem solving has been something I'm good at,” Woelfle said. “The analytical side, thinking what’s the quickest way to do it, because obviously you don't want to waste a ton of time on something that could be done a lot quicker.” 

Over time, Woelfle has developed an efficient system, bringing multiple shovels with him and using ice melt that won’t damage concrete. 

One of the hardest parts of the job, he said, is dealing with wet conditions. 

“You're down there shoveling and it's raining and then you get home and everything is just sopping wet,” Woelfle said. “Then I have school, work, and tennis.” 

When asked how he was able to balance several different commitments at once, Woelfle had a simple answer. 

“I just do,” he said.