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Labor Day …. Mmmmm?

In today’s world, Labor Day is a one-day holiday from work.

But, when I was growing up, Thanksgiving and Christmas were the only holidays off work that we knew anything about.

In our school books, we learned that many years ago, little children worked long hours in hot, dusty factories and for long hard hours and got a nickel or a dime for their work.

I knew something about work.

My first workdays were helping Mama at home…washing and drying dishes, dusting, sweeping the porch, hanging clothes out on the line and taking them off and, feeding Mama’s Christmas hog and the dog, picking up pecans, shelling peas … just a whole lot of labor.

“Thank, you for helping me,” Mama would always say.

Then, one day I learned that labor, sometimes, paid off.

I went blackberry picking and my gallon bucket was filled to the top. Miss Edna was hanging out clothes. “What pretty berries! She said and offered me 50 cents for a bucket of berries.

Right then and there, I decided I wanted to work for my living like Daddy was doing.

Picking peas, snapping beans and pulling corn put dimes and nickels in my piggy bank and I felt rich.

As I got older, I decided I wanted to work away from home and make big money.

My first “real” job was wraping boxes at Belcher’s. All year long, the ladies that worked at the dress shop would take store boxes and wrap the lid and then the box. At Christmas time, when a customer bought an item, the clerks would put their purchase a box put and top it with one of the matching lid and it was a present ready to go under the tree.

The next year, I wrapped Christmas presents at O.K. Ramage. Then, I really moved up in the business world — the candy counter at the Dime Store. I had to sack the nuts and candy, then weigh the bag and multiply the weight times the price, figure the tax and count out the change to the customer

Then, I was ready for a more prestigious job. At Hamrick’s Drug store. I was in charge of the counter and the tables. I made everything from pimento cheese sandwiches to banana splits. Everybody bragged on how nice everything look.

At the same time, I was helping Daddy at the ice plant bagging ice, in the meat room, and down at the gin yard.

As an adult, I have had several jobs from working soda fountains and cleaning cabins at Yellowstone National Park, teaching at a small country school in the Florida Panhandle and working at the Brundidge Banner.

Along the way, I have made a few dollars and met many wonderful people.

However, looking back, “Thank you, for helping me” was the best job I ever had and the most “money” I ever received.