By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Maybe you swept floors part time at the local bakery, or started out as the best pizza maker in town. Maybe waiting tables was something you dreaded, or running a cash register seemed like the coolest thing. Whatever the case, it seems everyone remembers their very first job.
This week, the Daily Star hit the streets to ask people just that question – what was your first job? It's no surprise that this is something most of us never forget.
Laura Burch, Mary Wisner and Betty Owens were enjoying a game of Uno at the Senior Center and enjoyed reminiscing about their first jobs.
Burch got her start working at a hospital in Canada, where she is originally from.
"I did a little bit of everything. Back then, things were different in hospitals and we were allowed to do more," she said.
For Wisner, her first job was as a cashier at F.W. Woolworths, where she also helped with food and did dishes.
"And that was before the days of a dishwasher so we did everything by hand," she said.
Owens grew up in Chicago and was an Incomplete Clerk at Spiegel's.
"I would go through boxes and if something was missing, it was labeled incomplete. I had to write down what was missing from the boxes, that's where the name Incomplete Clerk came from," she explained.
When asked how the work field today differs from what it used to be, all agreed that people today do not seem to appreciate work as much as they used to.
"We had a lot more fun when we worked. We actually enjoyed what we did and loved to work. Now people are always so stressed out," Wisner said.
"It's terrible now. Everyone is in such a rush and the time limits are very rushed," Owens added.
"Everyone trusted one another. You didn't have to worry about the things they worry about now," Burch added.
Angelo Fleming's first job was working at McDonald's in Fort Wayne. He was employed there for three years then went to college. He said his work ethic has changed a lot from then and now.
"When you first get a job, most likely you still stay with your parents, so you're just happy to have money and you really have no responsibilities. As you get older, you realize why you really have to work," he said.
Martha Ryman's first paying job was at Culver Academy, then it was on to being a waitress.
"At Culver, I would set in a tent and mark all of the uniforms with India ink. They didn't have tags on clothes then, so we had to mark them for the summer camp kids," she said.
After that, Ryman entered the world of serving, where she realized just how rude some people could be.
"It was at a place called The Farm House at Culver. It was during the war, so we didn't have a lot of things like butter and sugar. We also had very little meat. Some people would come in and get so upset. I really found out fast how nasty some people can be, but it was a great learning experience at 14-15 years old," she said.
Ryman said she and the other waitresses did a lot of different things at the restaurant, including gathering wild flowers from a field for table decorations.
Mickie Spencer's first job was one she invented.
"I was in seventh grade and loved to wrap packages. At Christmas, I told my mom I would wrap the gifts for five cents apiece and she agreed. She was one of the very few women who worked in the 50s so she didn't have a lot of time. Since I enjoyed wrapping, I thought it would be a great way to make money," she said.