Mart E. (Gardner)

I read all the posts, but don't reply much due to working. So I'm working too. That's until May 22, 2017 and then I'm going to try out retirment and see what all the talk is about. 

Daryl Tucker

I wondered if that was Randy driving! I still have some good friends from that class, but they sure were a lame looking bunch on Saturday. Nobody walking (Mary Lynne rode her bike), nobody dancing, no candy throwing, NO MUSIC, no energy at all! I was quite disappointed in them. Oh, and no Devil horns on the bus and no cheerleader manequin hanging out on the wheelchair lift.

I got thinking about it and decided the reason the Class of 70 is so conservative is that they probably took a lot of punishment in school being the next class to go through after us. We had the fun and raised a little Hell and they paid the consequences with the teachers and administrators. Live on Red Devil spirit. The Class of 69 still rules!

David Lynn

Oh, Mart. Too many of us still work, I meant when we were kids and our first child slavery job.  I figured you'd pick cherrys, Shauna. Red finger nails and all.  Sure glad Randy drove the bus, I felt better knowing that and I sure didn't want to do it.

Mart E. (Gardner)

My first job was working with the local milkman. I would help him doing his house to house stops running the items up to the house and picking up the empty bottles and money. Can you remember putting out your empty bottles and cash. Sometimes the money was in the bottle, an envelope push part way down. I did work picking cherry too, but that was later.  

Daryl Tucker

Was that Snow Dairy, Mart?  You might have delivered milk to our house. I'll bet your day started pretty early. Imagine leaving money in a bottle on your porch these days!

Mart E. (Gardner)

I can't remember, but we did start about 4:00 am I think. Wow that was so long ago I can't remember a lot of it. 
All I can remember is doing it. 

Stephen Harder

I have had many jobs in my life, And I started working as a paper boy in 1963 at age 11 delivering aout 80 Deseret News papers every day, In Mt. Pleasant Ut. I did that for two years untill my folks moved our family to Mapelton, Ut. Thank God, That job was the worst because it is seven days a week and it has to happen everyday, I guess it tought me responsibility at a young age. When we moved to Mapleton I retired and picked Cherries in the sumertime and spent a lot of time laying around on the couch watching Gunsmoke, Good Times! We used to go swimming at Park Ro Shey and I think David Lynn saved me from drownding because he told me to stay out of the deep end. I wasn't a very good swimmer untill later in life. I spent a lot of time at the Memorial Hall, not much time at the dances but a lot of time shooting at the range in the basement, With Garth Killpack and Dick Newton as coaches, I did alright at that, It was fun times in those days sleigh riding the Mapelton sleigh riding hill at Whitings Park was the best, I had a lot of great memories with good friends at Springville High.

Kate Robertson (Schoening)

Hi everyone-

My first job obviously was babysitting, I used to watch kids for hours and made .25 cents an hour - all damn day and night and get about 3.00.  Babysitting for John and Carla Torzillo (I have no idea how to spell their last name), was always interesting - and you all know what I mean!  Ha!  I went to work at Tuttles Dairiy when I was 13, bottling milk.....I also picked cherries - yuk!  In high school I worked La Casita on Friday and Saturday night, made great tips and got to wait on Robert Redford a couple of times.  Thinking about all that now is fun - 

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and let's plan a dinner at my house soon - I'm ready!

Robyn Hardy

I guess I should make a commit once in a while.  I did work at 15 during the summer as the mail room blue print operator at GATX.  Then another year when I got my drivers license I worked for Motor Merc auto parts, delivering parts all over the valley.  The next couple of years I worked in a steel fabrication plant welding up floating roof tanks and ladders and just general steel fabrication.  Then I worked for Mountain Bell doing all the phone wiring for new home and apartment construction in Utah county.  That was my foot into becoming an engineer for Ma Bell once I was finished with college.  I also did phone removals back when we would go remove phones once people did not pay there phone bills.   The best part was removing the phones at the womens dorms at BYU.  Sometimes the phone outlets where under the girls beds, where I had to unwire the lines.  Most of the times in the morning the girls stayed in the bed as I slid the bed from the wall so I could unhook the wires.  I removed all the burned up and melted phones from the buildings in Springville where Castleton photography was when it burnt down.  ATT would give us credit for all the phones we recovered no matter what the condition.  If the customer would not let me in to remove the phones we had to call out the sherriff to assist the recovery.

Daryl Tucker

That's interesting Robyn! Thanks for sharing. I imagine you probably knew Alauna's dad, "Shorty Huff," when you worked at GATX. He worked there until he retired many years after you worked there. Good stuff! Let's hear from the rest of you lurking out there.

Rosemary Clark (Carlson)

Robyn Hardy

Yes Daryl, I worked for Shorty Huff there, he was my shop boss at the time.  I really liked him and he treated me very well, as did everyone.  Almost forgot about him thanks for the reminder.

Rebecca Fechser (Everett)

This is a fun thread... our earliest jobs. So fun to read all of yours! Brings back many memories. My first was of course like most teenage girls, babysittng for a pitiful 25 cents an hour. Six kids, cook them supper and get them to bed. What a drag that was! Got me fabric money to sew my own Corbin skirt copies. I also picked cherries a couple of summers. Ate as many as I put in the bucket. Next, a job I loved: exercising Ralph McClain's big red quarterhorse, Cotton when he was out of town. She was a good 16.5 hands high and muscular and mean. She liked to bite. Was a trick for a little 13 year old girl to get that bit into her mouth. Plus I am allergic to horses, though I love them. Had to take a Dristan and an Allerest before I could even start. Remember those drugs? Long gone now. I still got fat eyes and hives through my jeans every time I rode.

Next from 15-17 I sewed every summer for JoLene. They started me on the button machine. You had to streamline every move to make piece rate. I had a dream one night I was coming down Hobble Creek Canyon and was hit head on by another car. Buttons flew everywhere.

I took my earnings those first two summers and paid for flight lessons. Soloed before I had my driver's license.

I got fast enough I was putting in almost 500 18" separating metal zippers in jackets per day. Bought my first car. A cute little robin's egg blue Opel Kadett. Do they even make those anymore?

Then I worked the counter selling Canon cameras at Allen's Photo on Univ. Ave.  Later, I did the window and in-store displays for Park's Sportsman, on State St, Taylors' on 200 W, and Christensen's at Univ Mall. All of those are gone too!

After that, Dennis and I moved to California, then Maryland for 30 years. I worked in an art gallery in Baltimore... too many stories could be told of those times.  What characters I met!

Thanks for all of your memories, and keep sharing. I do check in every once in a while.

Blair Packard

Yes, it is a fun post remembering our enterprising early job histories.

First job - mowing lawns within 2 or 3 blocks (close enough to push my mower) for probably a dollar per lawn.

I, too, remember picking cherries in Mapleton for 2 or 3 summers. I wasn't smart enough to quit after 1 year. I remember chilly early morning rides to Mapleton in the back of a truck, eating too many cherries, and sliding in the canals afterward wearing holes in my levis. And then spending whatever I earned on the 4th of July.

Next came a paper route - 4 years for Deseret News through rain, snow or shine. The mail carriers had nothing on us. We'd gather at the gas station at Main and Center, buy a cold bottle of coke from the machine in the lobby, stuff or fold papers, discuss important things with the other carriers, and then finally off to deliver papers early enough so our customers wouldn't complain that we were late.

I worked for Virg and Edna for 4 years at Park-Ro-She lifegaurding and teaching swimming lessons - getting paid to work on my tan. Does anyone remember playing the pinball machines in the lobby? How about eating Chicko-sticks? Do you remember that Mike Jacobson lifeguarded with us for 1 summer prior to his starting as football coach/teacher at SHS?

BYU years brought multiple jobs including assistant manager at the Pioneer Drive-in, janitor for the Jr. High seminary building, officiating high school wrestling, and summer jobs including tearing down Ironton steelmill, plumber's helper (3 summers) and driving and delivering concrete for Red-E-Mix before finally heading off to North Carolina and Duke U. for PT school and a lifelong career.

Good memories and lots of stories that could be told - but probably won't be.

Daryl Tucker

Thanks for your stories! Keep them coming! They are all very interesting!

Clint Bailey

Hi All,

I haven't kept in touch. I should.  It's fun to retrace the conversation (except R.I.P. Rick Brereton).  I shared some good laughs with Rick back in the day.  As far as work, the line from the movie Raising Arizona that went something like "your young and have your health, what do you need with job?" was my mantra.  I'm paying my penance as I still head to work every day.  Hey, only young once. Work our lives away.  Might as well have fun until responsibility kicks in.  That was my misguided philosophy anyway.

It was great to see the story about Park-Ro-She.  The SL Tribune has been running some historical pieces.  My confession.  I hated the indoor pool.  It was like a Mario Bava gothic horror movie (movie mode today for some reason).  Dark with weird streaky lighting.  The sides of the pool were slimmy and the smell of chlorine was intense.  I found it liberating when the outdoor pool opened with the bright blue paint.  The murder ending to story was also a weird little tid bit.

Speaking of historical, I think Daryl used the location of Jap's Hill in some directions.  I've never heard of Jap's Hill.  Where is it located and what is the history behind the name?  The Black Forest is a known.  I still can't believe how close the Black Forest is to the main road.  Was the canyon really that dead in the 1960's?  I guess it was fine since we were only roasting marshmallows anyway.

I hope to catch a get together in the near future.  Can't dis on the 1970 bunch.  Can name a lot of friends from 1970; Larry Murray, Richard Childs, Rick Brereton, Kent Hansen, Calvin Robertson, Craig Ivie, Jim Peterson, Chris Hendersen, Kirk Miller, etc.  Wait a minute!  Maybe you guys in 1969 didn't like me :).  Take care.  Glad to see folks doing well.      

Roger Judd

I agree this is a fun and interesting thread. My early jobs were working on our farm plowing fields, feeding cattle, irrigating corn and hauling hay. I worked a D-Oil for a couple of years and at the Rusty Nail in Provo while attending BYU.

After working in the sun all day some of my friends and I would go pool hopping, some times we would get caught and kicked out. One summer we went to Crandall’s pond, but the Crandall’s didn’t like that at all.

I remember getting trained to be a flagman for construction then went to Clyde’s construction company to apply for a job. The President of the company saw my application and when I arrived he pulled me into his office and sat me down and gave me a lecture on I was the type that shouldn’t work construction and should get my College Degree, Dam I could have used the money.

I remember going to Park-Ro-She with Tony and working on our Tans, its funny because I couldn’t swim back then. When I moved to California I swam and surfed in the ocean a few times a week until I got married.

I played Golf at Hobble Creek a few weeks ago with David Lynn, I really enjoyed it, it is very pleasant and pretty there. We had a good time.

While driving through Springville that little down has blossomed into a big town, so many houses, it has changed a lot.

If any of you plan a golf outing let me know, I’m in. Doesn’t matter what day, I retired 2 years ago.

Linda Schardine

Wow, Bailey your back good to hear from you, had some crazy times back in the day~~

Sounds like we all cherry picked at some point, did that and baby sat in the early years. Worked at the Art City drive in selling candy for a while....Worked at the Country Trunk making leather clothing and of course was one of the girls at the Barbazon sewing~ hey Mariyn where are you, we had fun times cruising after work down main street, I remember thats where you met your hubby, I remember the day the sparks flew!

I worked at the University hospital for about a year as a messinger, I liked that job a lot, except when I had to carry dead bodies to the morgue, yup...

Went to the Provo Technical college and got a degree in Graphics, worked at a lot of print shops. When we moved to Ca for 10 years I worked at the Department of Justice doing graphic stuff, that was probley my funnest job ever, never a dull moment.

Had quite a few other jobs, now  just being an artist and kinda retired, Doing whatever I want now, mostly kayaking just about every day since the public boat dock is across the road..

I have great friends and wish family was closer, but thats the way it is, I'll be back in Utah in the fall when things cool down again for a while........I know we've all had big lives and lots of stories, it's fun to hear**

After our quick try at golf at Erics, I think it might be fun to try again. My friends here think we might try, we have a small golf course 5 minutes up the road, Ill keep you informed David. Dang I should have saved all the buckets of balls we gave back after walking up there for 7 years on our dailey morning walk with our dog and found LOTS of balls. of well~~

Daryl Tucker

Clint, when you take the road directly across from the high school heading south. You wind around a bit till you hit the hill heading up toward Mapleton. There was a Japanese farmer in the 40's or 50's who raised vegetables on that hillside, or up at the top, and some of our pre-politically correct predecessors named the hill, Jap's Hill. As yet, I haven't heard of anyone attempting to rename it, but with the next assault on the Red Devils, we may have to consider a more correct appellation. The road down that hill has been a sort of litmus test for skateboarders' bravery over the past twenty years and I heard them use the term more than we did in our day. Of course, they probably never heard of the Black Forest, either, so I guess we're even.

Happy Independence Day!

Marvin Dansie

Do you still need me? Will you still feed me?

UTawna Johnson (Witney)

When you're 64? Marvin.... welcome to the club!!!  Happy Birthday!!!!

Daryl Tucker

Yes! Happy Birthday, Marvin! I'll be joining the club soon.

James Harmer

Just sittin here readin bout ya big city slickers swimmin at that ol Park Ro She. Heck I didn't even know they had a bus. Now we's kids from mapleton, well we just hopped on the old John Deer and went to the Flumes. Now if ya went swimmin at the Flumes clothing and swim wear was not allowed. I think it was a county ordinance or a law of some kind. Our dads would kick us out of the house before they left for their shift at the steel mill. We worked in the fields till noon. Had lunch, Then headed out to The Flumes from one to three, then headed back to the fields at three when it was a little cooler. We used to play a game we nick named Trollin'. About once a week a car load of girls usually from Spanish Fork or Payson but occasionally from BYU would do a drive bye. We didn't see girls from Springville that often They probably had a better up bringin'. To play the game we would draw long or short straws as the case may be to select the looser. The looser would take a position across the road once we saw the dust cloud that let us know that a vehicle was approaching. Then he would run across the road infront of the car and dive in the canal. It was better if it looked like you were caught by accident. Bye the Bye it was good to know everybodies car so's ya didn't run infront of your friend's mom who was cummin to get him for his Dentist appointment. Bet ya didn't play that game at Park Ro She!

Daryl Tucker

Jim, Jim, Jim, that story has to rank in the top three on this thread right along with Rosemary pelting mink in the eighth grade and Linda carting around corpses at the hospital. Gee you guys have some interesting histories!  

Oh, and happy 4th and Happy Birthday to Kathy Peay Taylor on her 64th!

Elise Zimmerman

Welcome to the club Marvin! I hit it back in January.