My First Job -- Father John's Medicine Company

Over the years, I've come to realize how lucky I am to have had certain jobs. Of course at the time, I probably didn't think so.  Imagine these days, going to a building, ringing a doorbell, yes a doorbell in the hallway, and asking for a job.  That is what I did, one cold October Friday afternoon.  The vice-president met with me and gave me an interview, of sorts, no resume or anything.  I was right out of high school. Then his father spoke with me, both having the same name.  I began work the following Monday learning the job from the girl who had given her notice that Friday morning.  That would rarely happen these days.  No references, no experience, nothing. And, I stayed over 10 years! What an experience, and for the entire time there, the employees became my family and I was almost always the youngest employee there.

Father John's Medicine Company was in a huge building, with very few employees.  The office where I worked as a secretary had two much older, spinster women, the president, vice-president and secretary/ treasurer (father and two sons).  Every day for all those years, the job was pretty much the same. It was like working in a museum, my 1943 manual typewriter was my pride and joy. I used carbon paper and learned to type perfectly very quickly.  Each day, after lunch, my boss, the vp, dictated letters to me, which I really enjoyed (I took shorthand in school).  Before I forget, this medicine company was established in 1855 and since the cough medicine was made in the building, I could smell the ingredients, such as cod liver oil, all the time.  You got used to it.

It was the kind of job where there was a lot of flexibility and tons of fun.  I met and dated two guys who worked there, one I am now married to. Yes, it was fun. It was also the kind of job which was impossible to leave.  My regular hours were 8:30 to 4:30 with an hour for lunch.  In the summer it was 9-4, hour for lunch. Same pay, so I could never leave in the summer, since I was only working 30 hours a week. Every Christmas, we received a week's pay as a bonus and received time off for Christmas shopping.  Every July we received a special bonus, depending on sales, it was usually three week's pay. I was stuck there.  My friends were talking about Word Processing, with IBM located in a nearby city, and I had a "43" typewriter. Yet, I finally left (September), went to work in the Purchasing Department of a hospital, called St. John's Hospital. So I went from a Father to a Saint.

Before this gets too long, I will share some photos I've taken there, many years ago.  And, in the future I may explain more about the company.

The people on the left were on the second floor, doing assembly line work. They began their lives there and ended them there as wwell. And I remember them well, this piece is for them.