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What summer job(s) did you have when you were younger?

Asked at Massachusetts Street on May 31, 2008

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Photo of Jeff Kelley

“Mowing lawns. It was a petty good job with good pay.”

— Jeff Kelley, geographic information systems analyst, Salina

Photo of Clint Ricketts

“I was a lifeguard and worked on a golf crew for two weeks. We had to wake up at 6 a.m., so I quit. Mostly lifeguarding though. It was a great summer job. It was pretty easy.”

— Clint Ricketts, Kansas University graduate student, Lawrence

Photo of Stephanie Bowen

“Cleaning houses and working at baseball games. I made pretty good money at both, but it was more fun at the snack bar - lots of interaction and all the food you can eat.”

— Stephanie Bowen, customer service representative, Lawrence

Photo of Julie Shrack

“I didn’t do much besides mowing my parent’s lawn and baby-sitting for extra cash. Then when I was old enough I got a job at Baskin-Robbins.”

— Julie Shrack, Wichita State University, Lawrence

Comments

jonas 5 years ago

Bean walker? WTF? Are you sleeping well these days, R-I?

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themiddlechild 5 years ago

I worked as an office helper at a visiting nurses association and then I delivered papers for my little brother after he broke his arm, I also baby sat my 1 year-old baby brother. This was all in one summer and gave the money i made to my father to buy a family car.

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RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years ago

jonas,Yes, sleeping well.And yes, I used to walk beans.You would be suprised how unruly those soybeans used to get without being walked.So early on my summer jobs were: corn castrator and bean walker.

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ms_canada 5 years ago

When I was 15 I went to the BIG city of Vancouver, B.C. That was a thrill for a young farm girl. I got a job as a house maid for some rich family. Turned out to be more of a simple house maid job. I did everything from looking after the two little kids to cooking breakfast for the father while the lazy mother lay in bed until 10am or so. But I was in the big city and that was all that mattered. I had 1/2 day off on Thursday and all day Sunday. Big deal, I went to the only person I knew in that big city: my aunt. And uncle. Thrilling?????????? The other jobs that I had as a teenager were picking strawberries and raspberries and beans, which are back breaking jobs. Unlike R_I I could not walk these beans, bending over is the only way one can pick green beans. Could snatching up strawberries and raspberries be considered castrating the plant?????????

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Mylantahawk 5 years ago

The worst job was working at the Seymour egg plant in Topeka in 1975. It was an old smelly factory from the early 1900s that smelled like rotten eggs. We would dry eggs into powder for cooking (200 lb barrels). There was also an omelette assemblyline, with omelettes coming down a conveyor belt. I would hold two spatulas and flip them onto trays. It was like 130 degrees in that room, and the omelettes never stopped coming. An old lady would come and poor cold water down my throat. I knew that summer that I would never work in another factory again. I worked a 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. shift and made $3.09/hour, which was about twice minimum wage back then. It was an eye opening experience....on breaks I was the only non-smoker in the break room, and there'd be all these folks puffing on their cigs with nary a word spoken. It was like a bad dream! I would ride my bike there, about 3-4 miles, riding home I'd be exhausted. I'd wake up around noon and be just a few hours from having to go back!

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deec 5 years ago

Washing laundry in a nursing home before they had Depends.

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trinity 5 years ago

keeping score for adult softball leagues. that job was a blast! :) and i started when i was 14, worked every summer until graduating from high school.

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canyon_wren 5 years ago

Mostly babysitting when I was under 16--at that time, kids could not hold "official" jobs till they reached 16. Maybe that is still true? Then sales in a nice men's clothing store and a dimestore, waitressing, cutting apricots for drying (I made a total of $65 for a month or so of doing that, but it was enough to pay for clothes for my senior year in h.s.). Probably other odds and ends along the way.

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Simpsons_did_it 5 years ago

I started working at a retirement home in the restaurant when I was 14. I couldn't work past 7 p.m. as far as the child laws go, I worked year round. I moved to the kitchen when I was 16 and stayed until I was 18. Now I'm at the hospital with a nice office position making good money. Needless to say, after the summer of 8th grade...I didn't have much of a summer. However, I can already hear myself saying to future grandchildren; "I've been working since I was 14 years old!." And yet I still wont have much of retirement funds..UGH

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George_Braziller 5 years ago

Worked as a janitor at a nursing home -- the ENTIRE nursing home. Rooms, kitchen, hallways, dining room, laundry area, common areas. I was a force of one trying to clean a space where 35 people were living. If you ever have a doubt about getting a college degree -- work THAT job. I couldn't even get to the end of the hallway before I had to start all over again because of an "accident." I was also buffing floors and changing light bulbs. Sometimes I was also working as the emergency dishwasher and setting up trays.

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H_Lecter 5 years ago

Summer vacations...Urine & blood tests for a labpicked up bodies for a morgue (most of them were already dead)construction work on grain elevatorslaborer in a steel factorystudent counselor/tour guide

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gayokay 5 years ago

I got myself a sugar daddy. Nice work if you can get it.

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jonas 5 years ago

I didn't have summer jobs. From the day I turned 16 (well, a short searching period afterwards) I just had jobs. Started at a restaurant as a busser and dishwasher, then at a grocery store as a clerk, then later as an order-taker for the Pizza Hut call center in Overland Park. That one was pretty fun, I had about 8 or 9 different voices I would switch between on the phone, all with a separate name and personality.

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chemegirlie 5 years ago

Right after I finished 8th grade (14 yrs. old), I started working a McDonalds. I worked there year round until I was nearly 21.

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RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years ago

Bean walker.

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RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years ago

Castrating corn.

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hornhunter 5 years ago

cool,In your younger years no present day!

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