I’ve had 17 jobs in my life. Being retired, I think back on them to help me feel more comfortable now about having my feet up, watching the rain on a Tuesday morning, with music.
I’ve worked since I was a small boy, though I’m not counting those early unofficial jobs. Maybe I should. I made enough money to keep me in popsicles and pinball.
Berry picking was my first and favorite employment. My grandmother started me when I was about five or six. My mother didn’t cook much that was memorable, but my Grandma Minnie loved to cook and bake, and she lived next door.
She walked me down the train tracks along the river for blackberries, then up over the hilltops for blueberries. Once I knew the way, she’d send me off alone with pails and instructions. “Get me this many blackberries and I’ll bake us a pie.” She’d run her finger across my pail to mark the line. “And watch for trains.”
She didn’t care how long I was gone, and I’d usually stay out all day picking way more berries than she asked for. I always wanted to impress her by filling the pail because she would behave so excitedly and compliment me and pat me on the head and tell me what a great kid I was. I ate that up.
The weight of a full bucket of berries would crush the bottom half. Grandma would graciously accept the mush for pies and let me sell the full berries door to door for 25 cents a quart. Quarters were a big deal back when candy was a penny. Blackberries came ripe first signaling the start of summer. Blueberries came next, always when the annual carnival was in town.
Berry money got me through the summer. When the autumn leaves began to fall, I got out my rake. People had big yards and big trees, and each yard needed raked a couple times through the fall. I relied on my berry customers who knew me and would let me rake their leaves. When the snow fell, I’d come back around to all these houses with my shovel and clear off their driveways and sidewalks.
Every summer I worked the carnival and the circus when they came to town. I’ve built and dismantled Ferris wheels and Tilt-a-Whirls, stocked gifts in the side shows, and run the kiddie rides, the choo-choo trains and the boats. George, the old guy who hired me every year, didn’t pay me much, but he let me keep most of the ride tickets, which I would sell in the mornings at a massive discount while pumping gas up the street for Clarence, and old guy who didn’t pay me much, but let me eat all the Slim Jims and Mallo Cups and drink all the Pepsi I wanted for helping him out.
Same with the circus. They’d hire kids to help setup and teardown in exchange for a few bucks and free admission to everything. I worked alongside elephants in harness used to lift the three center masts and raise the heavy canvas tent.
As I kid I also worked at the Strand Theater for old Joe Fusco, the mayor. After the movies, I’d help clean the theater, pick up popcorn boxes and soda cups. He didn’t pay much, but all my movies were free. I watched Disney’s “Jungle Book” 28 times. Maybe I helped out all these old guys as a kid because I didn’t have a dad. Car crash.
My first official paid job was to wash the inside of every single window in the high school with vinegar, ammonia, and a tape deck for music. It took all summer.
Today there are jobs to be had, and some people are turning their noses up at them. I never turned away a job, and I don’t recall ever once being turned down for job. I worked highway crew, stocked trout, and repaired lawns damaged by my highway crew. After two years working in shoe and carbon factories, I decided to try college. Penn State accepted me.
No one paid for my college. Between classes I worked for UPS, trimmed future Christmas trees, ran the front desk at a hotel and restaurant in Wildwood, New Jersey, and was a roughneck in the Oklahoma oil fields. There’s a story.
To save money, four guys lived in a one-bedroom apartment. It smelled bad, but I graduated owing only $8,500 and paid it off in two years.
While I was teaching 30 years at Benicia High I took on several other side jobs. I taught college classes at night. I bought a mini-storage with 34 tenants and the dog kennel next door with about 20 canine tenants. Once I landed a gig as a guest speaker on educational technology and spoke at conferences in Baltimore, Palm Springs, Vegas, Houston, Sacramento and Seattle.
Then I stopped. When I retired, I was tired. I untied my leather shoes and gave ‘em a kick. My old colorful ties are hanging in Goodwill. I’m into colorful socks now, preferably without shoes.
Next week I’ll tell you about my short career as an oilfield roughneck and its abrupt end.
Steve Gibbs is a retired Benicia High School teacher who has written a column for The Herald since 1985.
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Thanks for the column, Steve. Agreed that we had (and took advantage) of the opportunities in this country through being willing to work. Frank said it all in “That’s Life” (butcher, baker, pirate, poet, pawn and king). Today’s kids look for careers that start and end in a continuum; good luck to them, I hope they are resourceful enough to cope when things go awry (and they will). FWIW, I had paying jobs of lifeguard, factory shift (piece) work, loaded boxcars and trucks, motorcycle repairman, burger flipper, math teacher, nuclear submarine officer, nuclear consultant, EH&S consultant in national labs (Lawrence Livermore, Sandia and Berkeley), medical device quality manager, and COO of animal testing lab. Before the math teacher, those were all to pay while I was in college. I probably have missed a few of the more mundane sort (like working at several different fast food chains) I’m tired and retired as well; but still have fun sailing on the Carquinez.
Thom, I honestly think you should give our younger generations a chance. After all, what have YOU got to lose?
I said good luck to them, what more do you expect? Hopefully their parents have prepared them to cope. If not, they will fall back into the whiner category and expect to be taken care of. People throughout my life have said that I’m lucky. You make your own luck with hard work as Steve did as well as many folks in our fine community. . One of my favorite authors once wrote, “Luck is a word used by the incompetent to explain the workings of genius.”
Yes Thom, But you also said that “I hope they are resourceful enough to cope when things go awry (and they will).”. In some way, I believe the younger generations might actually be more resourceful than previous generations. That said, isn’t it just a typical pattern for the generation that is passing into the twilight to be pessimistic about those that are coming up? I like this quote “Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn’t have anything to do with it.”.
Yah, it is typical of previous generations to be deluded into thinking coming generations won’t have the moxie to deal with what life dishes out. My folks talked about the great depression and world war 2. and how we had it easy. Looking back, we did compared to them. I do not believe my remarks were disparaging to the youngsters of today.. I still hope that they can cope when things go awry….well wishing…; how is that disparaging or pessimistic?
Very good, Thom. You do seem to have some faith in humanity.
Very good Thom. I do know what you are talking about. I picked pears, plumbs, cherry’s and any other fruit that was available to ,pick. I loved every minute of it. Paper routes, janitor etc. Did it all. Yes you could say I was lucky. But not so. Worked very hard all my life and I earned it. I would hope to pass that work ethic on to the younger folks. It is a very good thing to help guide you thru your life. Only in America. GOD BLESS AMERICA. Why would I say that. Simple. I live in AMERICA AND THATS WHAT gave me the opportunity. ,Am I a Patriot. YES and proud of it. Others should get a good sold taste of it. It is a wonderful feeling.
Good article baby bro. Can vouch for you being a worker. My girls enjoyed the benefits of Uncle Steve driving the choo choo with free rides.
Thanks for your messages, and please continue sending them. Also criticizing or commenting community related issues, we need to speak up…. is the only way to get the things the way we want them set.
Thanks to all but please start by picking up your trash and organizing end embellishing at least the exterior area of your home.. we all enjoy it while walking and saying Hi to our neighbors, thanks God this is a small city that allow us to recognize our neighbors
REGARDS TO ALL
Nice article – Those were the days –
graduating and owing only $8,500 and paing it off in two years sounds great.
“In its most recent survey of college pricing, the College Board reports that a moderate college budget for an in-state public college for the 2017–2018 academic year averaged $25,290. A moderate budget at a private college averaged $50,900.”
https://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064
“And that’s just for one year. Colleges can increase how much they charge for tuition in future years. They could also reduce your financial aid package. Just because you received a grant from the college in your first year doesn’t mean you’ll receive it each year you’re enrolled.”
And in some cases – you end up paying for the student loan for the rest of your life.
So yeah, it’s a different world today..