Working for pay was always a high priority for us
kids growing up in the depression years of the 1930’s. Of course, we never got
paid for any work around our own home. A weekly allowance was something we only
heard about. So early on I mowed lawns for my relatives and then picked cotton
for neighboring farmers during the summer. I was good at the first and
very very poor at the second.
Therefore when I went away to dorm living at
Concordia Academy in Austin in 1941 it was assumed that I would find some
paying jobs. This was complicated by the fact that we were not supposed to go
off campus from Tuesday a.m. through Saturday noon. So I
found work on campus. The first job was to help take care of the grounds. I was
assigned a partner, Mike Mitschke. We worked especially the rose bushes. Our
work was carefully monitored by the school’s head, Director Dr. Henry P.
Studtmann. The pay was 20 cents an hour.
In my junior and senior years I got another
assignment. I managed the “school stationery”. This was a small operation
originally set up to sell stationery supplies to students. Gradually it was
expanded to a much more productive service namely
that of selling candy, soft drinks and such. We were open for a few minutes
after chapel each morning and then again after evening chapel services.
Everything was supposed to be on a strictly cash only bases, but there
were always some students who asked for credit. So I kept a log of that.
However, every accumulated bill had to be settled by Friday evening or no more
goods would be sold to that person.
Since these were the years of World War II it was
extremely difficult to procure candy etc. to sell. Every week I would go
in the “college truck “ with the school custodian to a wholesale provider.
There I put on my most friendly and beseeching face in an attempt to get a
supply of Milky Ways, Mars Bars, Butterfingers et sim. Some times
I succeeded, other times I came up empty. I am somewhat ashamed to admit
that once I procured these favorites I was not always completely fair in making
them all available for general purchase to all students. I must admit that
at times I did hold some back for favored roommates or other friends.
In retrospect I find it amazing that there was
virtually no supervision nor accountability. Each week I simply told Director
Studtmann how much gross income there was, turned that amount over to him and
then moved on. It was a good job.
In my junior year (11th grade)
I got a good break. The Wukasch Brothers Café operated on the main drag
just across the street from the big central library tower of the
University of Texas. They were looking for workers. Again Mike Mitschke and I
quickly jumped at the opportunity. On Saturday afternoons (except for
when the Texas Longhorns had home football games) we walked the few miles to
the café and got to work in the kitchen. I remember especially
peeling pound after pound of potatoes. But we also helped with doing
dishes, cleaning the floor etc. The 20 cents an hour was occasionally
supplemented by a free ice cream cone at the end of the day.
This job turned out to also be available over the
summer ,so I grabbed it. I actually rented a small room at the home of Teacher
and Mrs. Wilkening and got in as many hours as possible. I was promoted to
waiter, which meant that my 20 cents an hour was supplemented by tips. I
don’t recall ever getting a tip larger that 25 cents but those nickels and
dimes did count up. And I got my meals provided, as long as the cost did not
exceed the 40 cents which was the price of our standard plate lunch. Now that I
think of it, the café also got a good deal. They wanted me there early in the
morning through about 2:00 p.m. then wanted me “off” without pay
from 2:00-5:00, returning again to work from 5:00-7:00. It all worked
out.
One other benefit of that job was it expanded my
horizons. I became very close to Joe the dishwasher. He was an African
American and for me to work with a non-Anglo was a good and positive
experience. To this day I recall our banter, our 5 cents a day wager on how
many lunches would be sold that day, my covering for him when he took off for
June teenth (the remembrance day of when slaves were first freed in Texas). One
other “handymen” there was a mentally challenged gentleman and he, too,
was my teacher. Furthermore, my sheltered life had in no other
circumstances put me in contact with any non-Lutherans. Here I worked with
people of many or no religious beliefs. Some of my co-workers were females
(both single and married) whose life experiences, language, and other escapades
help expand my world. I also learned that of all meals ,breakfast is probably
the most difficult to serve. I never knew there were so many different
interpretations of what it mean to have eggs “over-easy” or to have bacon that
is “slightly crisped” or toast that is “toasty but not too brown” The size of
the waffle or the appropriate thickness of a pancake was always open to
argument, All in all this was a very good experience and later some of that
family was generous in helping me find funds to go on to college.
I believe that today, after 60 years, there is
still a café on that site, but I bet one cannot get a steak sandwich for 30
cents!
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