6-5-1967 – The day I drove to the American Olean Tile Company in Olean, New York.

I had to be there at 8:00 AM.

I was instructed to park in the large parking lot-

And go to the front entrance off the main street, across from ROXY’S BAR AND GRILL!

Go down the steps, and there was a small office with a partially opened window!

There would be a woman whose name was Shirley-

And tell her I was there to start work and meet with HR –

Whose name was Jim.

There were three or four chairs against a wall –

Directly across from that window, and she told me to take a seat!

Soon, two other college students came in –

They were there to work the summer and were students at Saint Bonaventure University.

Soon – one by one – we were called into the HR office and interviewed.

Those two were there for Summer jobs –

I was there to work full-time as I had a wife and baby son to support.

I was one week out of H.S.!

I had been in a terrible accident in September of 1966.

I spent 51 days in the hospital-

Not knowing if I would ever walk again.

This day, I was healed – reclassified for the draft with a family.

This was the first day of what would become a 47 1/2 year journey –

Working all those years for the same company in two different states.

Little did I know it would turn into a lifetime job.

This was the era of long-haired hippies.

But at that time, it was not me.

A supervisor by the name of Jim came to the HR office.

We would be working for him in what was called THE SERVICE GANG-DEPARTMENT!

He led us down another set of steps –

Turned left and went through a set of swinging doors.

HEAT – we felt it right away as it rushed at our faces.

We came to a large ramp and turned right!

He explained this was KILN NUMBER ONE!

It was well over one hundred degrees.

It was long – maybe 200 feet straight to the LAB.

People actually were working –

Sweat bands on their heads –

A contraption that shook sand and tile out of saggers into wooden trays.

The men had to place the saggers on the machine, and one had to take off the wooden trays and stack the tile on a skid.

They were fast – their t-shirts soaked with sweat and a woman –

Was there to grade the tile.

Fork trucks zoomed in and out –

Noise was deafening –

We were given earplugs and safety glasses.

The men had access to salt pills because they sweated so much.

It was one crew on this kiln. The other two kilns had their own crews.

It was also the hardest and highest-paid jobs in the entire planet.

They worked all week and by Friday, from eleven to noon –

Had their quota for the week and were done early!

Across the street to ROXY’S BAR AND GRILL, THEY WOULD GO!

They made at least three times what I would make and maybe even four times.

But it was hard, and we would be trained to fill in for illness or vacations.

I never had to go out there.

Instead, I was trained in the Pressroom to be a SAGGER BOY!

We continued past the Kiln and the lab –

Through a large open doorway with sliding metal safety doors in case of fire.

All inside entrances in the entire factory –

The first and second levels had these huge sliding fire doors.

As soon as we passed the fire doors –

Was the locker room for the men.

In here, we were assigned a numbered locker –

Mine was number 10!

There were no women who worked in-

SERVICE DEPARTMENT-BODY PREP –

At that time-

But if they had – their locker rooms would have been Kiln- Mounting room or Pressroom.

There was a shower room –

And a separate restroom with urinals and stalls for bathroom use.

A large round sink with a step on the pedal for water to wash hands.

A half-dozen men could stand around it!

I was about to start an unexpected journey that lasted 47 1/2 years.

Working for the same company in dozens of jobs.

A journey that I can honestly say –

I enjoyed – met hundreds of fine folks and even transferred to NVA to work at a half dozen locations.

When we came out of the Men’s Room, we turned right and down a slight ramp-

This was where Jim had a stand-up desk, and Herb, the other supervisor, had his desk.

This was BODY PREP, where the time clock was on the outside boiler room wall.

It was loud here with all the machinery –

But a lot cooler than the Kiln and Mounting room.

It was here that, after a few weeks –

There was an opening on the second shift-

Since the other two were college students and I was the youngest in the plant-

No one bid on that job, and I was assigned to the second shift!

It was TEN-HOUR SHIFTS!

I would earn two hours overtime each day, plus shift premium.

I had walked into a job where I could support my wife and baby.

We moved out of my parents’ home to an apartment over the Western Auto (now a library).

I worked that second shift for 6 1/2 years.

I made good money with the overtime.

The opening came on days, a

As I bid in the same department.

Here I am – my senior year – Number 65 –

Shortly before my car accident and about nine months before I started work at A.O.T.C.

That first day was the beginning of a career, and I have never looked back –

And never thought I missed other opportunities.

It was here in 1980-81 that I met Sherry.

We were both divorced –

We were married on June 25th. 1982.

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PAPA’S WORLD – MY FIRST WORK DAY – 6-5-1967!