How I Almost Made My First Million

Jan 9, 2018, 3:21 PM

There were several job opportunities for a young boy during the 1930's but none could be classed as a "get rich" scheme. Living in a small North Florida town that was primarily an agricultural economy, most jobs were related to farm work, mainly harvesting and handling of the various crops. Tobacco, corn, watermelons, peanuts and potatoes were the main crops with smaller acreages of strawberries, sweet potatoes and vegetables.

Day labor was usually $1.00, not much according to today's standards, but if a 12 year old boy could earn the vast sum of $1.00 in a single day, he felt like a millionaire. The first job for a 12 year old occurred during the watermelon season. This was an annual ritual for a 12 year old, the beginning of a fabulous career. How blessed was I that no government regulation prevented a 12 year old from working. Neither was there a minimum wage law. Osha was not yet a factor but, believe it or not, we were able to understand general rules of safety and applied a little common sense in the work place.

There were a lot of ventilated box cars on the side track where watermelons were loaded. My job was to put a dab of sealant on the watermelon stem, usually referred to as the "pig tail". The sealant was to prevent the loss of moisture through the stem. The other part of my job was to attach a label to each watermelon. The watermelons were marketed through a group of farmers known as the Southwest Georgia Watermelon Growers Assoc., and the labels read SOWEGA. My pay was $1.00 for each car load plus all of the watermelon I could eat. Ladies and gentlemen, that was a lot of money for this young boy.

All melons shipped at that tine were oblong and the overwhelming variety was Tom Watson. As far as I know, no relation to the golfer. Very little culling was done in the field, This was done at the rail siding. Watermelons with sun scald, warts or any deformity were relegated to the cull pile and each day the pile grew larger and larger until it looked like a mountain. There was no market for the culls so locals were given the opportunity to take all they wanted. "Watermelon Cuttings" were a social event that drew friends, neighbors and yellow jackets, followed by seed spitting contests.

The watermelon season lasted for about three or four weeks so I was able to earn about $25.00 during the season, a huge sum for a 12 year old at that time. I was now on my way to making my first million, only $999,975.00 to go.

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My day had a 9 year old yellow Cadillac he wanted washed and waxed. I took the job without knowing how much it paid. We lived in Hampton, SC and it was summer.

I started early morning with a garden hose and him instructing me on soap/water ratio. He was patient and I was diligent to do what it took to make him happy. As instructed I washed small sections starting on top, rinsed them well and called the inspector.

When the washing was done I was shown how to rub paste wax onto small sections, wait for it to dry, rub it shiny and call for inspection. When the yellow was finished he showed me how to apply Bon ami chrome polish, let it dry, rub it until the chrome shined and call for another inspection.

I don't remember much of the details except for having to work Bon ami into the small corners of the 10'X2' grille. It seems like there were about 12 or 15 million of those. I reckon I was kinda tired for it was late afternoon about then.

He patted me on the back and handed my 7 dollars that fine summer day back in 1963. The very next morning I walked to town and bought the Ben Franklin Five and Dime Store. Well, not the building but anything and everything inside that I wanted.

I fell in love with work and was stricken with wanting to do everything right the first time. It served me well when I started working in the butcher department of Wakefield's Gro when I turned 12. Yes, I cut chickens, used the electric slicer and can't recall any limitations except the cash register. I got nary a nick.

Thanks, Daddy.

How I Almost Made My First Million

Re: How I Almost Made My First Million

I was 7 when I took my first job.

Re: How I Almost Made My First Million

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