Working in High School

I went to work at Hays on Washington in downtown Jonesboro on my 16th Birthday! My best friend Mike Hawkins worked there and put in a good word for me... you know how hard it is to get one of those coveted "Stockboy" positions. That was some of the most fun of my life! Everyone was so laid back .. except the Manager. He thought it was life or death if we didn't get the shelves "faced" (to pull everything to the front so it looks full) or if the Always Save Toilet Paper was running low. Mark Morris ('86) also worked there. He was our boss and we always gave him the respect he deserved ... since he was a Senior at the time. We had to wear white shirts and a tie. At first, we wore the square knit ties. Later we decided it would be more cool to find the oldest, ugliest ties from our dads/grandads. That was our way of sticking to the Mgt.

I remember in the summer they usually had a hot dog stand out front of the store. When the stand closed down, they would give the left over hot dogs to the stockboys. One time, a co-worker ran into the stockroom and asked "Mr Morris" if he could go on break cause he just got some free HOT DOGS. Without blinking an eye, Mark asked "Did you get me one?" When he replied "No", Mark said "Then you got some COLD DOGS...get back to work!" The rest of us just busted out laughing! The customers that visited the Washington Store were a HOOT! I remember one lady asking if the "Tomato Ketchup" was better than the regular Ketchup. (Maybe you had to be there!) Sometimes after busting it all night to get the store stocked some of us would drive to West Memphis to eat Krystal hamburgers. I still LOVE Krystals ... I can't believe they did not make it in Jonesboro! Some of my coworkers included Mike Hawkins, Jason Grubb, Mark Morris, Mickey Ryan (HHS), Joe Crumpton, Sydney Linderman, and Lawrence Williams (at Woodsprings store). Lawrence was in a Hays commerical juggling oranges to "Benny and the Jets".

At graduation, Mike & I thought it would be funny to send Benny Hays (THE MAN HIMSELF) a graduation announcement. The next week at work, the Manager called Mike and I out to his car ..... Mr. Hays had a gift for us because we were the only ones that sent him an announcement. If I remember it was a thick, green towel!

Working in High School was one of the best times of my life. There was no bills or mortgage... just had to make enough to put gas the my 1974 Dodge Challenger and have some left for dates. I saved up money to buy a leather "Members Only" Bomber jacket. If I remember correctly, it cost $250 in 1987. I still wear that jacket to work! What a great investment! (However, Tonya says it is time to give it up!) NEVER! I at $3.35 per hour (my starting rate), I worked over 80 hours just to buy that jacket.

So tell me about where you worked during High School!