 Over the years I’ve seen most of you post about about having to leave for work. While it’s clear what some of you do for a living, I thought it would be interesting to find out the jobs that each of us have held during our adult lives. The genesis of this idea was seeing a picture of the department store where I held my first job right out of high school. (The picture is circa 1967-68, when I would have worked there.) It was something straight out of “Miracle on 34th Streetâ€! In an industrial/agricultural city of about 60-70,000 in the Midwest this was the Mecca of shopping for the region. It stood 5 stories tall plus a basement, which housed a popular cafeteria. Each floor was dedicated to something specific such as men’s wear, ladies wear, etc. Connecting each floor was an elevator. Oh, but not the kind we’re used to where you jump in and press a button. These were run by actual people! One of these young ladies who operated the elevator eventually became my wife…but I digress. I worked in the Display Dept. located on the 5th floor. We were responsible for changing decorations on each floor seasonally including the large glass window displays that pedestrians would pass on the street. The picture you see is what the store looked like when we decorated for Christmas. Good times!
My next job would be my career for the next 24 years. I was a printing pressman in Union shops. I began a 3-4 year apprenticeship which finally led to journeyman status. This not only meant I made good money, but I could also get into any union shop in America if they had an opening. I worked 11 years in the shop where I apprenticed before moving to another city for a better job. The picture shows me at my 2nd printing company with one of the large presses I ran. I’m probably early-to-mid 30s in the picture. We printed mostly record album covers and other things for the music industry.
At age 41 I felt the call to ministry. I quit my job and moved to Tulsa for 2 years of schooling. Immediately upon graduation I went into my first and only pastorate for 22 years.
I’m currently on staff part-time at a large church in the Orlando area enjoying life.
