Gainfully Employed

June 15, 1974….my first day of work in the real world.  I had only finished college the Friday before.  I had suggested to my mom that I would like to take a vacation for a couple of weeks before I went to work.

“Vacation?  You have got to be kidding!!  You have been on a vacation for twenty-two years!”   My idea had not flown with her.  My father on the other hand would have hopped in the car and said, Colorado, Washington, where to?

The the next Monday I walked into the old downtown JCPenney Store in Baytown, Texas, as their new Management Trainee.  I looked over the tired old balcony store.  It was similar to the one in Texas City where I had grown up.....just not as nice.  The floors were tan, the walls were tan, tan pretty much summed up the store’s color pallet .  I walked up the creaky stairs following the signs leading  to the office.

I was wearing a “can” dress, the newest thing.  It was a dress out of a soft jersey knit that could be stuffed into a can, an instant wardrobe change you could carry in your purse.  It had long sleeves, a jaunty black and white pattern, a defined waist and a short circular skirt. I wore black hose with my I.Magnum shoes, bought in Seattle at the Bon Marche.  Perhaps the dress was a little short for work but I would be buying for Women’s Fashions so I needed to show I knew what fashion was….even if it was JCPenney! 

Heading to the back, a man in coveralls smiled really big and said hello.  He waited like he thought I would shake hands with him…..but, I didn’t think I needed to extend such formalities to the janitor.    As I entered the tan shabby little office, all the walls were covered with shelves holding box after box of shoeboxes…..the store’s sales receipts and records from I assume the turn of the century.  Desks were lined up side by side  and all the ladies were working away until I appeared.  One of the ladies turned and asked, 

“May I help you?”  

       
"I am the new Management Trainee, I need to see Mr. Heinrich.” With that everyone looked dumbstruck.  The lady smoking dropped her cigarette in the dish and instantly the whole room  evacuated.  Then I heard the scrape of a little sliding window on a closed door beside me.  I turned,  the little window framed the face of an older lady.

“Are you Janis Faye Greenlee?”

      
“Yes, I am.”

       
“ I am Mrs. Washburn. Sit down at that desk in front of you, I have some papers for you to fill out.” She scraped the little window closed, unlocked the door and handed me a stack of papers to read and fill out.  “When you finish just stay right there and someone will be with you shortly, then she disappeared behind the door.

As I filled out the paperwork I began to feel a little sick.  I  graduated from college to work in a dumpy store like this?  It wasn’t anything like the large fashionable stores in Houston Dallas, the interviewer had sold me on.  I never dreamed I would be put in a little store like in my hometown.  Just as I felt my eyes welling up with tears, the door to the office opened once again.  I turned around and a very handsome 40ish man in a stylish, vested, dark suit with a burgundy tie stepped in.  He had thick dark hair, carefully groomed, and big blue eyes.

“So are you Janis Greenlee?” he asked.  I was still trying to figure out why he looked familiar.

“Yes, yes I am.”

“Sorry  for the coveralls, a few minutes ago, I was working on the air conditioner, I am the store manager,  Jim Heinrich.” He extended his hand.

I felt my face burning red, no wonder he expected me to shake his hand…He was my boss!

“Oh, oh, I am so sorry about that, I didn’t expect you to be dressed like…. Ugh I thought you were the Janitor…..oh I didn’t know who you were.”  He started laughing and I began to relax. At that very moment the evacuees from the office started filing into the office.

“Ladies ,” Mr. Heinrich said, “This is our new Management Trainee.  Janis these are our bookkeepers.  You will be working closely with all of them on your books.  Mrs. Perry, Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Cost and well I see you have already met Mrs. Washburn”. She had slipped out of the little room behind me.  I said hello to each of them, still feeling like a bit of a leper. 

“Janis go on with Mr. Heinrich…..you can finish filling out the rest of the paperwork tomorrow”, with that, Mrs. Washburn slipped back into the mystery room.

As the day progressed I noticed that every one I was introduced to had a sudden look of shock on their face, until we got to the stockroom manager, Robert, a large black man with a kind face and his helper, Leo.  The look on their faces was that of pure disappointment.

The day was a series of introductions and explanations of more things than I could remember in a lifetime. It ended with only the explanation of my retirement plan left to be explained and signed, which I would do tomorrow.

As I walked to my car at the end of the day, I realized I didn’t even know where I lived. I heard a honk and saw my dad wave in his Silver Buick as he drove by.  I pulled out of the parking lot and followed him to Woodcreek Village. My parents, in their haste to have me gainfully employed immediately had rented an apartment for me and rented furniture.  They had unloaded all my boxes of clothing, and other things and had it waiting for me. 

Woodcreek Village was a new apartment complex, not yet finished.  Mom had picked out my carpet, a very fashionable long gold shag.  The furniture she had rented was a white Naugahyde couch and matching chair.   In the dining area was a little white table with vinyl upholstered chairs in a plastic floral print of yellow green and orange. A friend had given me a coffee table, it was square with crinkle crack white paint and a glass top.  Through the glass you see a geometric design, holding up the glass.  As a surprise, Mom had bought me a set for my coffee table, which consisted of a large ash try (I didn’t smoke) a candy dish and a matching umbrella stand to go by the front door, all in the color theme, of flowers in gold, yellow, orange and green.  The bedroom furniture was yellow bamboo, also very trendy.

Mom and Dad stood there, beaming at all they had done, hoping I would be equally excited to jump in and finish the unpacking.  All I could say was, “I am so tired, I think I am going to bed.”  I thanked them, gave them a hug and watched them walk down the stairs.  “I will call when I get a little more settled.”  I didn't have to be at work until 1PM the next day….I could sleep now and get things in order in the morning.

I slept for about 5 hours then got up.  I started to unpack and put things where I wanted them.   The apartment was a one bedroom.  The hallway off the living and dining room was like a dressing room, with a sink and dressing table built in.  To the right were two doors, the bath and a huge walk-in closet.  To the left was the bedroom, over looking the stairway and the pool.

By daylight I had the place like I wanted it.  There was very little to do in the kitchen because I had very little.  I had shared the kitchen with roommates before and we just each brought what we had. It had a dishwasher which I learned the hard way, took a special type of soap.

By 11AM I was ready to get to the store so I stopped, got lunch,  then headed to the store. Upstairs behind Credit and Lay-a-way, was the break room, where everyone ate and also checked in and out.  There were clipboards with each person’s time sheet to sign in.  As I signed in people were going in and out each saying hi and calling me Janis.  As I sat down to wait, a couple of men were eating their sack lunches, neither acknowledged me until I sat down on the ratty sofa, which emitted a huge, loud and embarrassing squeak.  At that,  they turned around and introduced themselves.  David McCormick was also a Management Trainee, although he was about to become a Merchandiser.  He was tall, handsome and extremely aloof. He was married and had 3 girls.  David bought for children’s, piece goods, home furnishings and the catalogue department.  The other man,  dressed in a plaid double knit (2 for $100) suit was Stephen Ammons.  A “Barney Fife” type, he was married with no children.  Stephen was the Senior Merchandise Manager who bought for the men’s department, work clothes, boys and shoes.  They asked me the usual questions and when silence set in I excused myself and headed around the corner to the office. 

With the aisle visually blocked by clothing, I bumped into a large black woman, her name tag said, “Dorothy White”.  I introduced myself.   She stood there just looking at me a second and said, 

“I thought you was supposed to be a black girl?”

 “I was?” I looked at her confused.

      
“Yeah, c’mon over here.”  At her register she produced a picture of a very attractive black girl about my age.   “ This is the picture Mr. Heinrich gave us of our new trainee.  Eitha you faded or you ain’t the same girl.”  A big grin came over her face and we both started laughing.. So that was it…..everyone thought I going to be  black.

As I got ready to take my dinner break around 4 PM, Mrs. Washburn put another stack of papers on my desk.

“Janis, the last thing I need you to sign is about your benefits and retirement.  As you can see your projected retirement is June 15, 2017….”

In the 1970s when applying for a job you filled it out by hand and stapled a professional picture of yourself to the application.  Evidently mine and another girl’s had come off and not knowing who was who, the secretary had guessed, getting the two of us mixed up.