Georgia Bios: A Day in a Store American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940 _________________________________________________________________ Item 10 of 73 _________________________________________________________________ [A Day in a Store] _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ {Begin handwritten} Continuity Life history {End handwritten} January 24, 1939 Southern Department Store Cor. Broad Jackson Sts. Athens, Georgia (Manager - Abe Link Clerks: Mrs. Maud Elliott Mrs. B. F. McEntire, Mr. Mell McCurrdy) Grace McCune A DAY IN A STORE It was in a cold drizzling rain that I made my visit to a very popular department store. It was such a disagreeable day, that few people would get out unless it was necessary for work or business, and thinking this would be a good day to get a story, I went early. As I opened the door, I was hailed by them all, wanting to know how I ever got out of a nice warm office to come down there on such a day. I told them, the same thing that brought them out was the cause of my getting out also. They were ordering coca colas and I was invited to join them. As we were finishing our drinks, Mr. Goldberg came in and wanted to know why we picked such a cold day for cold drinks. The store is heated by a large circulating heater in the center of the first floor. They were all around the heater waiting for the store to get warmer before they started their work of dusting counters and straightening stock. They were all talking about their different work. One clerk has the dry goods department which is on the first floor; a man is the one that has charge of the shoes and mens clothing which is also on the first floor; another clerk is saleslady in the ladies ready to wear and millinery department. This is located in a balcony that covers half of the first floor. As they went about their work, Mr. Goldberg said, "You know that this building is one of the oldest brick buildings in Athens, and was built when Broad St. was the main street in town. It is three stories: our department store has the first floor, the Joel Brothers, Jake a lawyer and Charles, have their offices on the second floor. On the third floor is an overall and work shirt plant. This plant was owned by the Joel brothers, but they have sold it to another company. "It was in this building that Michael Brothers first started in business and I think their home at that time was down on Oconee St; next Louis Morris had a dry goods store here for some years, and then it was bought by old man Abe Joel; he is dead now but the building is still owned by his sons. "Joels were in business here for years, until the old man's health got bad and he sold out his store to my father-in-law. He has also passed away. The Joel boys then opened up the overall plant on the third floor, and run it up until last year when they sold out to another company. "We moved to Athens when I was about nine and I have been here since that time. I went to school here, graduated from the University of Georgia. I worked for my dady's store, here on Broad St. also while I was going to school. Those were great days, the boys don't hit it as hard now as we did then. I remember one night when the freshmen were having a banquet, the sophomore's were tryin g to prevent the freshmen from attending. I was carried out below Princeton and tied out on the river bank to a tree. They told me that they would come back for me after the banquet was over, but if I should by any means be able to get away from the tree, I would be allowed to attend without any more trouble from then, and they left me there. "It was getting night and I couldn't work those ropes loose finally I heard an old man over on the hill. He had been ploughing and was hollering at his mule, and that old gee-haw whoa mule, gee-haw sure sounded good to me and thinking he would help me I started yelling as loud as I could, he heard me and came to see what was the trouble. I begged him to untie me. He wanted to know what I would give him. I promised him a new pair of shoes if he would come to dad's store the next day. He cut the rope and I lit out for home. "Yes, I had to walk, but who minded that if we could out do the sophomores. And I just knew I could get in now and they would not bo {Begin deleted text} {End deleted text} ther me any more that night. I went home bathered and dressed in my tuxedo, even had the high top silk hat. I was feeling great, but it didn't last. "I went strutting along head high in the air. As I reached the old Imperial Hotel, where the banquet was being held, the sophomores were all lined up. As they saw me, they wanted to know how in the hell I got away. I pulled off the high top hat and made a most polite bow to them. But, oh, boy, I paid for that. For inspite of that, gentlemens agreement that when a freshman managed to work out of any place they put him he was free to go where he wanted to. They threw rotten eggs all over clothes and especially my nice high top hat. I was ruined. They wouldn't let me inside with all those rotten eggs on me. I finally managed by the help of one of my friends to get out of my clothes and he got up a couple of aprons and tied around me. That is how I attended the banquet, but at that some of them were worse off than I was." "At this time an old negro woman came in wanting to see the manager. He asked her what he could for for her. She said, "now just look {Begin deleted text} rite {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} right {End handwritten} {End inserted text} hyar at dis pair of shoes, dey done busted plum out and I jist got 'em Saddy nite." Looking over the pair of felt house slippers, he said, "Aunty didn't you get them a little too small?" The answer came right back, "I didn't git 'em a'tall my gal done buyed 'em fer me." Mr. Goldberg laughed and told the shoe [salesman?] to give her a new pair of house shoes. The old aunty thanked him and said, "I done tole 'em dat you would make 'em good. Two Negro men came in wanting to see some overall jumpers. The clerk carried them to the back of the store where the overalls were and they first [wanted?] to see some dat had linin' in 'em. But after they had looked at everyone of them, they wanted to see some of dem dat warn't lined a'tall. They were shown these and told the prices of both. After examining both kinds for sometime they decided the sizes won't right and they would look around sommers else. As they departed, the clerk said, "That is what clerks get all through the day. Why sometimes meet I them at the door and ask if I can help them and they will walk all over the store and out again, without even answering me at all. Then sometimes they will walk around and then finally ask if we have a rest room. We have all kinds of experiences in our work, but we also have some very nice customers, and most of them are nice. And it is a pleasure to wait on them. A {Begin deleted text} lady {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} woman {End handwritten} {End inserted text} came in looking for a hand bag to match a suit. The clerk helped make the selection, also showing gloves to match the bag. The customer thanked her, as she paid for them, saying you have been so nice to take up so much time with me. After selling a man some children's socks, a {Begin deleted text} lady {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} woman {End handwritten} {End inserted text} a child's sweater and cloth to another customer, she came back to answer the telephone. It was someone that wanted some of them to go out on the street to see if they couldn't find a dray, and be sure and get one that had a good horse and wagon. I asked if they had many calls like that and she said, "Why all the time. When it is not bad weather there are usually drays and trucks both around on Jackson St. and some people think we have time to hunt up a dray anytime they want one. A small well dressed man came in the store and asked for Mr. Goldbert, who introduced himself as Mr. Jacobson. He said he was from Florida and on his way to Hot Springs at his doctor's suggestion, and needed some help to get there. Mr. Goldberg asked him how long he had been sick. He said, "for sometime. I am not accustomed to asking for help, but I spent everything I had trying to get well. I have always donated highly to our society for the help of Jews, and it is embrassing now to have to ask for help myself. But I just can't stay here in this weather for it will put me right back in bed. Mr. Goldberg asked if he had been to the president of their society here. He said yes and that he gave him a place to stay the night before, but that was all he could do for him. He then called Mrs. Jake Joel, the president of the sisterhood. She refused to do anything at all for him. He asked her if he should get sick here, who should he refer to her or the Rabbi. He thanked her very polite, placed the telephone back on the desk and said, "I have never had anyone to talk to me that way before. Why she said that if I should get sick to call on the city that they were supposed to take care of folks like me. Well, when I had plenty of money I had plenty of friends. Asking who the rabbi was and where he lived he went out. A saleman came in to see the manager, said he had his new samples of ladies underwear and a lovely line of ladies blouses both wash and silk, sport and for dress wear in all the new shades that went with the new spring suits. Mr. Goldberg asked the clerks if there was anything in this line that they needed. But they said that they had already placed their orders. He wanted to know why he was never able to land an order from them. They said well, you are always too late. He said business wasn't as good with him this trip, and that he didn't think anyone made any money last year, and were lucky to break even. Mr. Goldberg told him that the fall of the year was when he did his best business for his largest buyer were farmers, but that it was very disappointing last fall. The farmers had short crops did not make anything, depended [too?] much on their cotton and lost on that. And when the farmers fail I lose also as they do not have the money to spend. Two colored men came in wanted to see some mens underwear. The clerk asked if he wanted the union suits, hesitating, one of them said, "Yas'ser dats it." They were shown a heavy weight which was too heavy, the light weight was too light "fer wuk." Nothing was just right and they left to look around and if us don't find 'em den us'll sho be back. A girl came in and asked to see an umbrella. Mr. Goldberg waited on her as the others were busy. She asked for an oil skin, but when he showed those she wanted a cellophane one. After looking at these, also the cloth ones she finally decided on the oil skin. Then she wanted to know if he had any rubber overshoes. He got out the old time overshoes and she said could she try them on over her wet oxfords, or if she would have to take her shoes off. He told her that he could not fit them on her feet for then they wouldn't fit the shoes. After working to get them on over the wet shoes, she said she would take the umbrealla and come back later for the overshoes, and be sure and put them aside for her. As she went out, he told the clerk that if she came back to give her the 8 1/2 for she would never get the size 8 on her feet. And laugh this off. She also wanted to know if she just wore the overshoes without the shoes would they look any smaller. Two Negro girls came in the door. They were met by the clerk. She asked if she could help them. They just walked by her, went up to the ready to wear department. The clerk up there met them at the top of the steps with the same polite offer to help them. They walked by her looked at hats, pulled out dress racks, looked at them, then walked out of the store without speaking at all. The clerk downstairs finished waiting on some more customers, and said it was time for her to go to lunch. As she started out the door, she was met by the husband of one of her old customers. His wife wanted some cloth matched and no one could do it but her so she came back and waited on him and then she went on for lunch. "I went up to the ready to wear department. Two Negro women were looking at a child's wash dress. One said it would take one size, but the other insisted on a smaller size. [3/4?] Finally arguing they bought the dress, then wanted to see the hats. The clerk was very considerate and showed the new hats which had just come and explained the different styles and colors, one of them picked up a small roll brim hat and said, "ain't dis pretty, I sho does lak it, and I sho am coming back and git dis very hat. The clerk asked if they wouldn't like to see some of the new spring dresses and especially the new suits. One of the women opened up a box she had and showed a new suit that she had just bought for $6.95 and wanted to know if their suits were as nice as the one she had just bought. Assuring the woman that she had suits just that nice, the other then said she was coming back to dis store for her suit. As they went out, the clerk said it is all in a day's work. "My motto is to do unto others as I would like to have them do for me, and I don't try to sell anyone else something that I would not want myself. I try to treat everyone fair in every way, and I do appreciate my customers, and I have built up a good business with them. Most of them are nice and considerate; of course we have some that are trying. But I can wait on them for hours and know that they are not going to buy. "Only the other day, I sold a woman a coat. It was a hard sale, as she did not know just what she wanted, but after I had put it in the box and handed it to her, she said "I just reckon as how I won't take it. It took another good hour to sell her the coat all over again. "And then I had another customer that I showed everything in this department and everything I showed her she said 'Ma has got one just like it, and very often these young flappers come in and try on dresses and hats just to have a place to smoke and rest, but they are usually very nice. "One day a lady came and wanted to see my very latest dresses. After trying them all on and examining them to see how they were made she said I thank you very much. I am a dress maker and I just wanted to see how the new styles looked. It will give me new ideas in my work. "Some people that clerks have an easy job, but they don't realize that we have to keep this stock in place and that it has to be brushed and dusted every day, and it takes hours to get it fixed back after a busy day. Then every season things have to be packed away to make room for the new things and I wonder every year as I pack and put away things if I will be here next year to unpack them. I have worked on this same block for 27 years. I asked her to tell me about it. She laughed and said, "Well, I will tell you what I can. I was young when I went to work right in this same store for Mr. Abe Joel. I had never worked before and I was started in at five dollars a week, but that was big money to me. I worked two weeks, then I was called to the office. I just knew I had done something wrong and my knees were shaking so I could hardly walk. But when I got there, they told me that I had tried hard to learn, and they were satisfied with my work, and they were raising my salary to ten dollars a week. "We [worked?] hard, but business was good then and didn't have so much competition.' Farmers would come in to buy and they bought for the whole family and the bills amounted to something. We always got a bonus check at Christmas for Mr. Joel and the boys gave us a piece of gold money. She had to stop and wait on some customers and I looked around her department. One side was filled with dress racks full of dresses and in the center of the balcony were seveal large round dress racks, one of house dresses at 98, one rack at $1.98, one at $3.95. All dresses run from 98 to $7.95. Suits at different prices, popular prices in tailored suits were $9.90. Coats light and heavy weight at different prices, rain coats $1.98 to $2.98. Children dresses from 49 up. The other side was hats, all sizes, colors and shapes. On a table in the center floor was displayed a nice line of hats that were priced at 98. The better hats were in show cases and in the hat shelves. A large glass case also held blouses, gloves, and hand bags, sport shirts and uniforms. These were all priced from 98 $1.98 and some a little higher. The sewing room and fitting room were in the back and in the fitting room was a table, chair and a long {Begin deleted text} mirrow {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} mirror {End handwritten} {End inserted text} . The sewing room had a long sewing table with an electric machine, a ironing board and electric iron, a long table with a {Begin deleted text} mirrow {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} mirror {End handwritten} {End inserted text} over it and was heated by a small heater. There was also a large full length mirrow out in the main part of the balcony for trying hats and dresses. "At one side was the cashier's stand, where the baskets came from all parts of the store as the cashier also wraped the packages. This cashier stand is used only in the busy season as they had a register and wrapping counter on the first floor. As the clerk finished with her customers, she came back to me, and said, "Did you know that I have had two weddings right here in my balcony, but that was when I was working for Mr. Joel. I dressed both the brides. The first couple was from the country and the bride came in and bought her outfit, from underwear to shoes and hat. We dressed her in the fitting room and they called a Justice of Peace to marry them. I {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} never laughed so much in my life, for he asked the groom if he would take the bride and feed her on cornbread and {Begin deleted text} collars {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} collards {End handwritten} {End inserted text} . Of {Begin deleted text} crouse {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} course {End inserted text} all the clerks as well as our other customers were watching and listening and I thought they would laugh themselves to death when the justice of Peace asked that question. It was the only wedding I ever saw like that. "The next wedding we had was really a nice wedding. It was a couple from Madison County. We dressed that bride also. They had some of their friends with them and we called Preacher Elliott to marry them, and it was quite different from the first one. Mr. Joel could just think of everything and did things so different from anyone else. One year business was bad. Farmers had a bad year and couldn't get anything for their cotton and couldn't pay up their bills. Mr. Joel bought a bale of cotton and put it out in front with a big sign on it saying, 'we will buy your cotton at ten cents a pound.' He would buy the farmers cotton from them and we sure did do business that fall for they all traded with him, payed their bills with the cotton they couldn't sell and in this way we did a good business kept our old customers and made many new ones.' "When the war came, his two oldest sons were just the age to go. They volunteered. We all hated to see them go, and we knew just how it hurt Mr. Joel, but he did not want his boys to be slackers. We just tried that year to see how hard we could work. Business was good everywhere then and we sure got our part, and at Christmas I received a bonus check for $300. with merry Christmas on it. He was a good man to work for, and he appreciated what his clerks did for him. I never had any trouble with him but one time. I came in one morning a few minutes late, and several customers were waiting for me. The boss gave me a dirty look and also a raking over before my customers. That made me mad. I went ahead with my customers and after they were gone, I went back to our dressing room, got my coat, and hat went by the office and told them that I was quitting, as didn't intend to be treated any such a way before my customers and I walked out. Mr. Joel called me, but I didn't stop. "I had just reached my home when two of the boys got there. They talked to me and begged me to come back. They told me what was wrong with their dad. One of the banks had closed that morning, he had several thousand dollars in the bank. He was worried and didn't realize that he was so cross. I stayed at home a week and went back and I never had any more trouble with him. I worked for him as long as he was in business. In fact, I worked for them fourteen years and ten months. "After he went out of business I worked for another store in this same block until 1932, and then I came back here to work for Mr. Goldberg, but it is time for my lunch hour now, will you have lunch with me? I thanked her and told her I would get me a sandwich later as I wanted to talk to the other clerks while they were not busy. As I went back to the first floor, two ladies came in the front door. The clerk met them, but they had just come in to warm and rest awhile. She invited them back to the fire, and placing chairs for them, went back to wait on another customer. I listened to them talk while they rested. One said she 'just had to come to town, and see 'bout gettin' something to fix fer her children's school lunch. You know I has three in school and they has got to the place where they think they is too good to take jelly and butter and bread or for that matter they didn't want eggs no pre-serves neither. Just thinks they has to have fruits, sich as apples, oranges, and banannas, and why if I didn't just set my foot down, they wouldn't take a thing 'cept candy. "My children can eat really more than most grown folks, 'cause they ain't finky bout what they eat at home. It is just what they takes for lunch. The other lady had come plum to town to git her radio fixed. When they told me that it would take all of two hours work to git it fixed, I decided to come down here to wait. I knowed they would n't mind, they all'ers have such good fires and are so nice to us when we wants to warm and rest. Why sometimes folks eats dinner right here, when they has to [be?] in town all day. Tain't no wonder that folks likes to trade here, and I try to do all my trading here. They are always nice. I bring them eggs most every time I come and they always buy them and garden stuff too, but I didn't have any today. My children all like eggs and they come in handy in fixing up their lunches. But they told me to be sure and bring back the radio and we all likes to listen to it at night when we are through work, but I'm glad they likes it for it keep them from galivanting 'round so much at night. They then got to discussing the Bible, said folks didn't read it right and anyway no one understood it, and after arguing this way and that way, they started out, one to see if by any chance her radio was fixed sooner than they said for you wouldn't always tell 'bout 'em, and the other one to see if the boys won't ready to go home and she still had to hunt for something else to help in lunches and she just had to be home by night. The clerk came back to the fire then, and said, "It has been a good day for sweaters for it is really cold outside, but I will tell you a joke on the boss. Mr. Goldberg had just come in and he said, "now look here, if these folks are going to talk about the boss just let me talk first, and tell you that my clerks are all so much older than I am that they have no respect for me and just talk to me any old way. This brought a protest as well as a {Begin deleted text} lugh {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} laugh {End handwritten} {End inserted text} and very friendly argument between the boss and clerks, one of them said, "just write that our boss was one of the best pitchers in soft baseball here for years, until father time stopped him and now he plays golf. Mr. Goldberg laughed and said they will ruin me yet. Better let her tell her joke; for I know I will have to pay for it. The clerk said, "Well, last week a lady came in to buy a sweater for another woman said he wanted a 38. As the one she was buying for was larger than she was and she didn't want anything except a dark blue, I know my stock pretty well and I knew that sweaters run small to the size. The lady that was buying couldn't have worn less than a 42. I gave her a 46 and told her that if it didn't fit I would exchange it or give her the money back. After she had gone, Mr. Goldberg bet two coca colas to one that she would bring it back for it would be too large, and yesterday the lady came back. He asked her how the sweater was, and she said, "it was just a perfect fit and the lady was well pleased. I asked if the boss paid off. He answered before she could, said no, but he was going to for if they ever got anything on him he never heard the last of it, but after all they are pretty good sports and we have worked together so long that we don't mind each other. "We have extra help on Saturdays and in the fall we have several extra ones on the force. These long dull days just whips us all down. They are worse than being busy. We have a good trade among the farmers, but last fall was disappointing. Farmers made short crops, depended on their cotton too much and the boll weevil ruined most all of that, and when the farmers fail then we all lose too. Business was not so good last year, but we are expecting and looking forward to a better business this year, and I hope we will not be disappointed. We open at eight in the morning and close at six. Except on Saturday nights, when we stay open late for the benefit of our customers that have to work also. Of course we come in contact with all classes and kinds of people. Most of them are nice but we do run across many amusing things in our work. In the fall rush we have a young boy from the university to work with us. He is a fine boy and well liked by all in the store, but we get a good many laughs on him. Especially one time last fall. A lady from the country came in to get a pair of shoes. This boy was waiting on her and he is very nice to his customers. He had tried on several pair, when all at once she wanted to know if he was a married man. He hardly knew how to answer, but told her that he was not married. She refused to let him finish waiting on her, said she was a married woman herself and she didn't want no young upstart fitting shoes on her feet. And if there won't no married men that could try on her shoes she would go sommers else. An older clerk was called and after assuming her that he was married and had a large family, she let him fit her shoes, and bought them, but she won't goin' to let no young upstart try shoes on her feet. "You get a good many amusing experiences in all parts of the store, but most of all in the shoe department and the ready-to-wear. Ladies at least nine out of ten will want shoes that are too small and can't understand why they are not comfortable. And the colored folks are very amusing, and will try their best to get on a shoe that is several sizes too small, so dat dey won't look so pow'ful big. They are the same about dresses and coats, and you know it pays to watch them too when they come in a store in crowds for they can pick up {Begin deleted text} thinks {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} things {End handwritten} {End inserted text} and you looking at them. And as Mr. Goldberg went out for his lunch, he told them he would be late and might not be back at all, for he had an engagment and it was such a bad day they probably wouldn't be busy enough to need him and turning to me said don't let these folks tell you too much on me. Fixing up the fire, the clerk said, "I am going to rest while I am not busy. I asked her to tell me something about her department. "Well, when some of them come in, they know what they want again they don't, and then my tables and counters will look like a cyclone has been through, but I don't mind for I do like to please my customers, and when they come back and call for me, then I feel like I have pleased them. I have built up a good trade and I have customers that will not let anyone wait on them except me. They will call for me and wait until I can get to them. I find most of them nice, but have had some to tell me, after showing everything on the tables, shelves as well as the show case that they didn't want to buy, but just wanted to look and that was what we was here {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} for, to show them. And that clerks didn't have any business getting mad when folks wanted to look. "It is really in the fall that we are real busy in my department, for I have everything that one could ask for at least I feel that way until someone comes in and calls for the very thing I am out of. I have a time with the new help sometimes for some of them have never worked in a store before and they have to be shown everything and the prices. Last year one of the new girls was selling some cloth that was marked 19 on the bolt and the girl wanted to know if that meant 19 a yard, or was it 19 a bolt. But things like that makes me think of when I first started out to work. I asked her to tell me about that. I [went?] to work when I was about fifteen for Max Joseph and Co. as a cashier for eight dollars a month. They had two stores both was on Clayton Street, but one was where Kress's is now, and the other one was where the Michael Building is. I had never worked before and I was just as green as any one ever could be. Didn't know a thing about a store. I did not have any trouble in learning to make my change, but the telephone had me. I had never tried to use one, and didn't know how and I would just let it ring until someone else answered it. But day it started to ringing, I just let it ring until someone told me to answer that telephone. "I didn't know what to do, I had seen the others pick up the receiver and say hello so I tried that. And I never heard such a noise in my life. It was a Jew woman talking, and I just couldn't understand a word, so I just put the receiver back on the telephone. And immediately it started rining again. I let it ring until some of the others finally answered it, and it was the boss's wife. She wanted to know who that [D?] fool was in the office that didn't know how to answer the telephone. She came in the office later and asked me why I hung up on her when she was trying to get her husband. I just had to tell her the truth, that I didn't know how to talk over one. She looked at me hard decided I was telling the truth and she showed me how to talk over a telephone, but they were all good to me and I worked for them until I married. "I was very small and thin then, and Uncle King as we call called him, but his name was King Marks, was awfully good to me. He was an old bachelor and was Mrs. Joseph's brother. He was sick all the time and wouldn't eat anything hardly. They would fix everything they could get to try to get him to eat. He would fix it nice and tell them he would [eat?] it at the store. And he would bring it to me, he said I needed more, because I just brought sandwiches for my lunch, but I did not know that he thought I wasn't getting enough to eat, and I really enjoyed those good things. He would bring turkey, chicken, goose, cakes and pies, in fact they fixed up everything for him to eat, and I got the most of it, and I didn't know that he was suppose to be eating it all. "He had a hobby of saving gold money and every bit that I got in the register, he would take it out and replace it with paper money. His folks all knew that he was saving this gold money, but when he died they could not find any of it. They sent for me to come to the house, said they knew he liked me, and thought that he might have told where he put his gold money. But I didn't know and I couldn't help them. But I didn't know and I couldn't help them. I never heard any more about it and I guess they found it, but it was right at the time I married and quit work. I didn't work any more for five years; and then my husband died leaving me with two little girls to raise. I went back to work, and it was right here in this same building for Mr. Joel as cashier at twenty five dollars a week. They were good people to work for and when in the busy season we did not have time to get out for lunch they asked us which we had rather do, have three dollars a week extra to buy lunch or let them have our lunch fixed at their home with theirs. "We decided we had rather have them fix lunches, and we sure didn't make a mistake. For our lunches were fixed on a large plate for each one, and we had just what they did, and it was the best that could be fixed, and was cooked good. "I enjoyed working for them. We worked hard for he really did a big business. I asked if she was there when they had the weddings. She laughed and said, "I sure was and I never laughed as much in my life as I did when the old Justice of Peace asked the groom if he would feed the bride on cornbread and collards. But the other wedding was a very nice one. "I worked for Mr. Joel until he went out of business. We sure did hate to see him do that, but we knew it was on account of his health. But he didn't forget his old clerks then, but very often came by to see us. I never did any kind of work in a store except as a cashier until I came to work for Mr. Goldberg, and he asked me to try working on the floor. It was hard and I thought I would never get use to it, but now I don't want to change. I like it so much better. I have so many nice customers, and I appreciate them too. I am always pleased when one comes in and calls for me. "Why only last Sunday in our church as we were coming out I noticed an old man standing off to his self. His clothes were old, but he was very neat and so clean looking. I did not know his name, but I did remember that I had waited on him in the store. So I made my way across to him, shook hands with him and told him how glad I was to see him at our church. He was very happy that someone had come to seek to him. As we talked a few minutes, he looked up at me with a smile and said, 'Ain't you one the clerks that work down at Mr. Goldberg's store. So you see I am pretty well known. But I do try to treat all my customers right, and it is a pleasure to wait on them. Business is not what it used to be. Of course we do not make what we did years ago and those old bonus checks are gone. I make just about half what I did, and have a hard time at it. But in spite of the fact that I will soon be fifty-four I am not yet willing to give up my work. I like it too well. A policeman on that beat came in then to warm, and said it was getting much colder on the outside, and that the wind was blowing so hard. The door opened again, a lady asked if Miss Sarah was there, as Miss Sarah went to meet her, she said she wanted to see some children's sweaters. After waiting on her customer, she came back to the fire, and said she wanted to go to the show that night. I asked if she enjoyed shows. She said yes, I really do and I enjoy my church and our Sunday school as well as the social gatherings. I enjoy my friends also and like to visit them and have them visit me. As we were talking the clerk from the ready-to-wear department came down to the fire and they told me of one of their sales on Saturday night. A Negro man and woman came in to buy a dress. When the woman went in the fitting room to try on a dress, she left her purse on the counter, telling the man to watch it. She didn't like the first dress and the clerk came out to get another one. As she came out the Negro man went in. Waiting at the door for the man to come out, she heard to following conversation between the Negroes. What you done wid dat pocket book (woman) I done tole you to get it when I came in her (Man) didn't nuther woman youse better git dat pocket book and when youse do, just give me my money dat I done wuked fer 'cause if you ain't got no better sense dan leavin' it layin' 'round fer somebody to pick up youse sho haint gwine to tote my money. The woman came out in a hurry found her pocket book but didn't want him to take the money. A argument followed and the man refused to buy the dress, but about an hour later they came back and bought the dress also a hat. But the man was carrying the money. I asked if they did a credit business. She said, "No, but we have our lay-away plan. People can [select?] what they want, until it is paid for. They are supposed to make regular payments but when they miss several payments without letting us know why, then it goes back in stock, but Mr. {Begin deleted text} Goldbert {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} Goldberg {End handwritten} {End inserted text} is very nice about that, for he will write them and ask what they want him to do, before he puts it back in stock. "We do our alterations free of charge in busy season and on Saturday we have a tailor to do this work here at the store, but through the week we send it to tailor shop for we do not have enough alterations to keep one during the week. "I have a girl on Saturday to help me. Business is not what it used to be and while I don't make the salary I used to, I think of when I was glad to work for five dollars a week to learn, and now we can't get one for less than two dollars a day, but it takes more to live on now than it did then. It will soon be closing time and I had better be getting my stock covered up, and as they all went about getting their stock covered for the night the boss came. He said, "Well, did they tell everything they knew on their boss. I told him they were very nice about it and he really had some fine clerks. His [reply?] was, "I know that, and I know when I leave them in charge that my work goes on just as well as when I am here. We have enjoyed having you with us for the day and come back to see us again." ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. 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