On the Monday after I graduated from high school I went to the Niles Times office to see about getting a summer job there. But no luck. I decided to try an employment agency in Youngstown. I went to three of them; the first two did not have any listings for summer office jobs. However, the Wells Vocational agency found a possibility at Western Auto in Youngstown. It wasn’t really a “summer” position, but I thought I might be able to take it, since there was a branch store in Kent where I might be able to work next fall when I would begin college at Kent State. I could start the next day. The pay would be $33.00 a week plus commission. The main difficulty would be getting back and forth by bus between Niles and Youngstown.
The first day of work, real work, began. I cleaned up all of the counters with a shop vacuum. I lugged stuff from the cellar stock room. I met the other clerks. There was Quintin, a junior in college who was planning to be a Nazarene minister. Rudy was twenty-five, looked to be nineteen, and had an expectant wife and child. Mr. Miller worked in auto parts and complained all day long. Charlie Z. was floor-manager with a mean disposition. Paul K. was assistant manager and was very nice. So was Mr. Rishavey, the general manager. The other people in the store included Art, stoneroot clerk; Fred, receiving-room clerk; Carey, service department attendant; and Mr. Robinson, who installed seat-covers.
The second day, I stocked counters. The work was easier than yesterday’s, easier on the back but not on the legs. It would take time, I guessed, to learn to stand on my feet for nine hours a day. My legs from the knees down felt dead.
On my third day, I started selling. I took in $72.33 in cash; $25.00 for charges, and for tires, $86.00. Because I sold seat covers for $10.20, I earned a 10 percent commission. I enjoyed selling and thought it was a lot of fun. I hoped I would continue to enjoy it. I only wished the red tape were less. As one of the main Western Auto stores in the area, we determined what merchandise would be sold in northeastern Ohio. On each sales receipt the clerks had to insert the catalogue number for every item sold. Charge sales demanded even more detailed information.
The next day was exactly like the previous one. I supposed most of the days that summer would be the same. Saturday was the busiest day of the week. I sold no tires and nothing on charge. However, I made $140.42 in cash sales and earned $1.95 for myself through commissions. My total for three days of selling was $474.55.
Monday of the second week must have been “tire day.” By selling ten tires, I took in $180 for Western Auto. However, my cash sales amounted to only $58 with no other charges. This evening I walked downtown to the Grill, the local teenage handout.
The next day was a bummer, with $40 in cash and $6 in charges. Actually, I had $66 but the seat covers I sold to some woman did not fit and she had returned them. That evening, again, I went to the Grill for a ten-cent cup-of-coffee.
On the beginning of my second week, I drew my first paycheck. I made $32.10 with $4.28 for my income tax deduction and a sixteen-cent miscellaneous deduction. My net earnings were $27.66. I did not ask about what had happened to my “commissions.” In the mail I found a letter from Wells Vocational reminding me I owed them 10 percent for finding me this job at Western Auto. And so began my employment history.