KANAWHA COUNTY, (Hinton News) – I believe there’s one thing that always sticks in our minds — the memory of our first job. That ah-ha moment when you realize, “Hey, I can do this or that and earn cash to do whatever I want.”
My Aunt Josephine and Uncle Russell taught me the value of strong work ethics. They ran a janitorial business in Kanawha County, so they started me young. I remember feeling like I was so important when my aunt taught me how to answer the phone like a “professional secretary.” I felt on top of the world getting to help sweep like the grown-ups and pick up the trash at the theaters they cleaned. We laughed so much while we worked; it seemed more like an adventure. Afterward, we would always sit at Tudors and have breakfast, no matter the time of day or night.
I remember once when my uncle was teaching me how to sweep at a church they took care of. My Mom, always being the worry wort, told him the sweeper was too heavy for me. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the look on my uncle’s face when he looked at me and then at my Mom and said, ” She’s doing fine. Leave her alone.”
Oddly enough, she did. I proudly finished sweeping, and from then on, I always felt like there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. When I first started getting to help out, I was so young that payment was a shopping spree for new clothes. Finally, I was old enough for cash. I felt like I was on top of the world at that point.
Everyone used to call me second Josephine because we were so much alike, and my uncle was like a second Dad to me, always spoiling me and doing things for me. I remember him putting me on top of the floor buffer and making a ride out of it as he did the floors. It was so much fun then, but now I realize the love behind the action.
My Aunt Josephine and I also used to roll up the shopping guide so they could deliver it one day a week. I remember once we had to speed away because a person was chasing us. They didn’t like the shopping guide being thrown in their yard.
So many adventures but even more life lessons and a lifetime of memories. I hope your first job brings to mind happy times as well.
