The JOB

This week's Slice of Life is The J.O.B.  The 1930 census lists my Dad as a shipper in a shoe shop.  He was living in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts at the time.  I believe shortly after that he moved to New Hampshire.  Dad continued to work in a shoe factory.  By the time I was born my Dad still worked in the Shoe Business.  Here is a newspaper clipping that I found among my mother's things.   I don't have a date or a newspaper, but believe it is between 1950 -1953. 

I wish I had a copy of that magazine, American Shoemaking.  I never knew as a child that he wrote any articles.   My Dad made shoes for many years.  In fact, as a child it was hard to go shoe shopping with him.  He wanted the shoes to be made perfect and would give the sales clerk a very hard time. It was embarrassing.  When I was in fourth grade my Dad worked at  The Men's Colony, a prison in California.  He helped the prisoners learn to make shoes so they would have a trade when they were released. 

He started to dabble in real estate, and liked the thought of a job where you were not confined to a building for eight or more hours.  So, in the mid 60's he changed professions and became a real estate agent.  I loved to go looking at houses with him.  While he drove I became the navigator, with a Thomas Guide Book  in hand.  I learned good map reading skills.  And to this day, if I have been somewhere once I can usually get there again.

In the early 70's he taught real estate at the local community college and helped others to get their real estate license.

My dad always wanted someone to follow him in the real estate profession.  Looking at homes was very enjoyable, but selling homes required to much math for me.  So, I went into nursing instead. But, that is another story.