[Emerald U.]

General Discussion Thread 03.12.2025​

Hello, dear GrayViners! How are you doing? Is the weather getting warmer?

I recently caught up with some former officemates, and it made me feel a bit nostalgic. So, how about a little trip down memory lane? Tell us about your first job! Did you have a summer job as a teen, or did you jump straight into the workforce? Was it fun, and did you stay a while, or was it so dreadful that you made a beeline for the exit?

I can't wait to hear (read) your stories!

 

[minngal]

Car hop at local drive in. Walked 2 miles to work at 2 p.m. and home again at 10 p.m. because we lived in the country.

 

[CSChapman]

My first “ real job” was as a high school Distributive Education student as a bank teller. I remember buying a navy blue mini- dress with my first paycheck and feeling so proud!

 

[12rose]

Right out of high school at a bindery, sanding the spines of old text books to get them ready for rebinding.

 

[JoyALorton]

Worked as a teen during holiday breaks and on weekends at a "dime store." Young people don't even n know what a dime store is. Met my first husband at the same store because he was the Assistant Manager. Of course, I didn't know I was even going to date him, let alone marry him. He was one year ahead of me in high school. We married one month after I graduated from high school. Girls 18 and older didn't need a parent's approval to get married, and I was 18. But boys who were younger than 21 needed a parent's permission. My boyfriend/husband was only 19, so he needed his mother's okay to get married. She was one of our witnesses. We were married by a judge in the courthouse.

 

[Arkie98]

I baby sat

 

[Tyed-dyed]

I was hired as a travel clerk at a travel agency. I was fraeh out of high school, only 17. The owner gave me a lunch sack to take to the bank. Thinking it was someone's lunch, I wasn't too concerned about it. Inside the bank I delivered it to the person I was told to give it to, she told me to wait. Humm, why? About 2 seconds she was back, standing in front of me. "Do you know what was in the bag? She said. I said, your lunch.? She then said it was over $10,000 in the agency's receipts for that week!!
That freaked me out so bad I quit 2 days later and ended up working for the government for 37 years, but never in finance!

 

[PurrCee76]

My first job was working at a Popcorn store in the mall. We made our own caramel for the caramel corn in a big copper vat. I can remember trying to pour the caramel coated popcorn from the big copper vat into the bin without getting my inner elbow area burned. I loved working there but didn't like getting hurt.

 

[Oldone]

My first job was as a cashier at Macy's Dept store

 

[Gayle B.]

It’s definitely getting warmer here in Kentucky! I’m all for it! Can’t wait to see blossoms on the trees and flowers starting to peak through the ground.
My very first job was babysitting. I was 14 and happy to be earning my own money. Along with that I pumped gas at my brother’s gas station. I had saved money at both jobs and could bye my own gas for the beater car I owned. Talk about freedom…

 

[Alina]

My first job was a cashier in a grocery store. It was part-time, after school. I was only 16 years old at the time and could only work 20 hrs a week then.

 

[Eileen]

I work at this little drive up food stand. Ordered at a window with a few tables for customers to sit inside. If they ate inside I got tips. Was what you called a greasy spoon. We had fried food and I went home each day smelling like grease. It was great!!

 

[Scotty Searan]

I worked with my dad in the summertime. He was a house painter and he had a couple of men working with him. I was 12 years old.
Then when I was 16 I dropped out of school and worked as car hop.. I would work some days 16 hours a day. My wages was 50 cents an hour plus tips. Back then you thought a $1 tip was good. Though there was a particular lady that drove a blue Volkswagen bug. Everyday she ordered the same thing: A hotdog and a small coke. Back in 1968 that order was 40 cents including tax. She always gave me a dime for the tip. Even though I was a car hop I was shy. It was take the order and go on about my business. I have thought of the lady in the Blue Volkswagen and wandered what was her name.