College Jobs III

I worked for a very short time at Metromail. I was a stock handler and moved stock from the warehouse to a pickup point near the machines. Metromail is a large direct mail advertising company on the east side of Mt. Pleasant. They mail out massive amounts of material to households across the country.

I drove a forklift to the warehouse, found the material and then delivered it back to the pickup area. There, handlers with handcarts would move the material to the machines that inserted it all into envelopes. It was actually fascinating to watch. I worked the evening shift. It was a good job but after the first week or so it was apparent that I would not be able to work there and still get my schoolwork done.

I gave my two weeks notice so I ended up only working there for a month. When I left they said I was a good employee and that I could come back anytime I wanted. That made me feel good and I actually considered it a few times but never went back to work there. Factory work is a different kind of work than I have ever experienced. I am glad I had that experience.

I also worked at Walgren’s Market during college. I was a night and weekend manager. Another store in town had started opening all night and weekends and so Dick Walgren and his brother decided they had to at least be competitive so they extended the evening hours from 6:00 to 10:00 PM and started opening on Sundays from noon to 4:00 PM. A small group of us manned the store and served what few customers we had during those times.

The schedule worked well for me. I had plenty of time for schoolwork and the job paid pretty well. I think it was around $7.00 an hour, which was considered very good pay in those days. I ran the cash register and supervised another worker who stocked shelves or carried out groceries if we had a customer. When we closed I hid the cash drawer in the back of the store, secured all of the doors, and activated the alarm. I goofed the latter two up a few times and set off the alarm.

It was an easy job and I enjoyed the responsibility and meeting the public. Once when I wouldn’t sell beer to a minor he got all excited and screamed and yelled at me. When he threatened me I picked up the phone and called the police and he left the store immediately.

One of the owner’s sons had keys to the store and would come in the back way when we were still open. I know he carried a lot of beer out the back door but there didn’t seem to be anyway to stop him. On other occasions members of the families of the two owners would come in and fill carts heaping full of groceries and then wheel them right past me and out the door. I felt a little uncomfortable about that but didn’t know what to do.

Walgren’s caught fire and burned late in the summer just before I started teaching.