Seniors take look back at early employment

Staff writer

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When she was 18, Patsy Rains worked as a waitress at Clyde’s Cafe on Main Street in Portales.

Rains, a graduate of Floyd High School, later went on to gain her teaching degree and became a fifth-grade teacher in Portales.

What did you enjoy about your first job?

I think I had more fun with the people than the job, but I had fun waiting on the people and talking to them. I was just right out of high school, so I was just having fun no matter what.

What did your first job teach you?

I think it really taught me about getting along with people, talking to them. I got teased a lot, but that was OK. That was the fun.

Adam Gutierrez was eight when he began picking cotton and other crops with his sisters in West Texas.

“From there, we worked in the fields all the time, and pulled cotton every year. We pulled tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, you name it,” he said.

What did you enjoy about your first job?

I liked to pull cotton. Me and my sisters, we pulled about 1,000 pounds a day. I worked hard in jobs all my life.

Was there anything that you disliked about your job?

No. I just enjoyed it. My dad taught us to pull cotton, do this and that, and we did it.

Jo Winchester’s first job, at 11, involved cleaning rooms at a hotel in a small town in California.

“The lady that owned it was 86 years old, and I went to work for her for 50 cents an hour. She taught me the Dutch cleanser, getting down and scrubbing the bathtubs. She taught me how to make a motel bed,” Winchester said. “It was just a fun thing to be able to make money and run up and down the stairs, and my little brothers and sisters would wait down the stairs for me while I cleaned the rooms.”

What did you enjoy about your first job?

I stayed home and babysat my little brothers and sisters. My mom worked all the time. Being able to make money. We had nothing. Being able to go buy my little brothers and sisters an ice cream or soda pop. The excitement of going down to that restaurant in the summertime barefooted and cleaning those rooms. They’re great memories.

What was challenging about your first job?

Nothing. As a little girl, I knew how to work. There was nothing bad about it. It was just fun. It’s all I’ve ever known to do, is work. I like to work, and I appreciate young kids who do have jobs that ask for work. Out of all my businesses, I never refused any kid a job. If they came and asked for a job, I would make sure I found something for them to do.