Bosses I Have Known--From First to Last

BOSSES I HAVE KNOWN.pdf

Title

Bosses I Have Known--From First to Last

Creator

Jacob Schlitt

Description

"It occurred to me that another way of telling my story, at least that part of my story that deals with my work-life, is to look back at all my bosses, from first to last."

Date

2013-05-22

Format

application/pdf

Type

text

Language

en

Identifier

BOSSES_I_HAVE_KNOWN

Text

BOSSES I HAVE KNOWN---FROM FIRST TO LAST

It occurred to me that another way of telling my story, at least that part of my story that deals with my work-life, is to look back at all my bosses, from first to last. In some cases, they were only my boss for a short time.

For example, my very first boss was the owner of a small millinery factory, and I worked for him for three weeks in 1942. I got the job because one of his hat blockers was married to the daughter of one of my mother’s friends, and he recommended me. I was paid $8 a week, and after the third week when I left to start high school, he gave me an extra dollar. What a great boss! I don’t remember talking to him the entire time I was there. It must have been him who told me what to do when I started—sweep the floor, and pack and deliver the hats—and somebody must have shown me how to do it, but I have no memory of him. Just the end of the day on each of the three Fridays when he counted out $8, and on the last Friday, $9.

Mr. Louis Fox was my boss at the Newspaper Division of the NY Public Library, 137 West 25th St. That job lasted three years. I started at 37 ½ cents an hour, and I suspect that I may have been making 50 or 60 cents an hour when I left. The minimum wage at the time was 40 cents an hour, but the NY Public Library was exempt.

Original Format

application/msword

Citation

Jacob Schlitt, “Bosses I Have Known--From First to Last,” Autobiographical stories & other writing by Jacob Schlitt, accessed March 29, 2024, https://tsirlson.omeka.net/items/show/199.