FIRST JOB

My first job other than mowing yards or working in a garden was in Mr. & Mrs. Rex Johnson’s Latex cafe.  I worked in the kitchen as bus boy, dishwasher and potato peeler.  I was 12 years old. The cafe was next door to the Johnson’s store. Rex ran the store and Mrs. Johnson cooked and ran the cafe. I was trying to make enough money to buy a bicycle. Most kids in Latex my age had a bicycle but my folks could not afford one for me.

I don’t remember just how long I worked, but it was on weekends. People would come from miles around to eat Sunday dinner. The Latex Cafe had a dinning room that was only opened on Sunday and sometimes there would be people waiting in line. On Sunday the store was closed and Mr. Johnson met all the customers at the front door. He never forgot anyone and called those who had ever been there before by name.

Mrs. Johnson was known far and wide for her cakes and pies. She made fried pies that were out of this world. We had people come in from out of state who had heard about the fried pies.

When I was about 17 I worked weekends as a waiter. If business was slow in the cafe sometimes worked as a handy man in the store. As a waiter I was taught that there was no excuse to go back to the table with the food and not know who ordered what. We were also taught to watch the customers and go back and try to sell them dessert just before they finished their meal. Rex said, “don’t let a man light a cigarette for desert. Get there just before he was ready to light up and tell him how wonderful our deserts were.” Actually Mr. Johnson’s point was that if we took care of the customer he would spend more money. Not only would the customer be happier we would get bigger tips, the mechanics of the process was to anticipate what the customer wanted or would do.

Hats Off! to Wetzel LaGrone for his story.