"Monday morning we would return to a restaurant where a Mr. Lutz seemed to be thinking there would be a job for me.My story continues...
*************
Mr. Lutz said they still hadn't made a decision but I should come back on Tuesday at 4:00 PM.
From a letter dated Tuesday, June 23, 1964...
"We've been here 1 whole week. Seems more like a month...
"A store here is looking for clerks & we plan to be interviewed for that later. It would pay $40 / wk without R or B. That isn't too good but we could change if something better came up later.
"I got my check cashed O.K. Sure was good to get it. (The check was payment from a shoe store when my mother returned a pair of shoes I had purchased but decided not to keep. They had cost $14.00 so that payment was very welcome.)
"Our colds are better..."
"Just stopped at Mrs. Lutz Foods but Mr. Lutz wasn't there so I won't know until tomorrow morning about the job..."
The next letter was dated Thursday, June 25, 1964...
"Praise the Lord! I believe things are finally looking up for us. The weather here has been really beautiful... My cold is almost gone..
"Job wise things are also improving. I worked about 5 hrs today, ironing at a laundry. It pays $1.00 / hr and I'll be able to work there some until something else comes up. We're really trusting the Lord to provide good jobs for us.
"Yesterday we could have gotten jobs at a different laundry but it only paid $.65 / hr without any R or B. We sure didn't think we could make anything much at that so we prayed about it and decided not to take it.
"I told you about the job I had applied for at Mr. Lutz Foods. Well anyway, I kept going back every day & Mr. Lutz kept telling me they hadn't had time to decide about what they were going to do. Last night I was supposed to call him because he said he would know for sure then. I called & he couldn't tell me then but told me to come in today for sure so I did. Today he told me they were planning to just change the girls around at Mrs. Lutz Foods but by Sun. he thinks they'll be needing some waitresses at Elkhorn Lodge which is a real exclusive lodge & eating place... He wants us to both come in Sun. for interviews. Do pray special about this as tips & work would be real good if we could work there. They also provide room and 50% on food. We're trusting the Lord to work out something for us soon...
"Thanks for the good letters received today..."Back to the present:
We had Joyce Bennett to thank for the ironing job. We had spent much of Sunday with her and her husband so I'm sure our job search woes had been a big topic of discussion. Somehow Joyce contacted us on Monday about the need for people to iron at a laundromat owned by a friend of hers. We went there and Joyce's friend hired us to work alternately in the laundromat as ironers. This owner offered the service of "washing and ironing" to customers so we helped her respond to that offer.
My next letter is dated:
Sunday, June 28, 1964
Dear Folks,
Got your good letter today & certainly thank you for the check. We weren't too rich right now. In fact I guess we had only about $2.00 to our name but we have enough food to live on for a few days.
I thought I had told you but maybe I didn't, that we have been taking turns ironing for the past 3 days. We iron right at the laundromat & get $1.00 / hr. We really don't mind the ironing tho' most of the stuff we get to iron seems to be men's shirts and trousers. We'll be ironing again tomorrow as we haven't found out definitely yet about the waitress jobs at Elkhorn Lodge which we were to be interviewed for today. We went to talk to Mr. Lutz as we were supposed to this afternoon. He told us they hadn't made the final decision yet but told us to come back after lunch tomorrow & they would know for sure then. I asked if he thought there was going to be any need for more waitresses & he said as far as he is concerned, he will be changing 3 girls, which would make room for us, but he has to first of all talk it over with the hostess at Elkhorn Lodge. He is very nice and cordial and made it sound quite promising about jobs. Only the Lord knows whether or not we'll get the jobs for sure but I feel it would be a good deal if we could work at this lodge. It's quite a swell place, provides room and probably 50% of our board. The Lodge also has a swimming pool and stable which would come in handy too. We've been much in prayer concerning jobs & today had special prayer together before we talked to Mr. Lutz. I feel we've both grown much spiritually. Do pray that we'll continue to grow and mature.
"Church was real good this morning. The church people are also praying much about jobs for us. Sure is good to know people are praying for us...
"We'll write more tomorrow when we find out about these jobs. Love, Lee
Wed. July 1, 1964
Dear Folks,
I suppose you've been wondering why you haven't heard from us for the last few days but the reason is simple; we still don't know anything definite about jobs. Mr. Lutz didn't decide until today about what changes he would make in waitresses at Elkhorn Lodge. Today he told us that he had had a talk with 2 waitresses there who weren't working efficiently. Each of the girls, however, wants a second chance so he's giving them until Sun. to shape up or they get the axe. One, he said, is as slow as molasses in Jan. so he's about positive she won't make it. The other would rather stay out all night than work during the day so he doesn't think she'll make it either. We're supposed to call him Sun. nite & if he fires those girls, we'll be able to start work Mon. Morn. We just don't know what to do! We've had opportunities to work for 65 or 75 cents an hr. but we just don't feel we can make anything on a job like that so we haven't taken them. We also could probably work for $100 a month but that wouldn't be much either. We've tried about every restaurant & they still don't need waitresses anywhere. The sad part of the whole deal is that the 47 kids from Bear Trap are coming Mon. noon & we have to leave the cabin where we're staying now to make room for them. If we get on at Elkhorn, we'll have room there but we won't know till Sun. nite about that. We can stay in a cabin the rest of the summer for $10 / wk but we hesitate to take that now because we still don't have a definite income. If we need to, we can stay with some church people for a few days but that can't last all summer either. We're still praying we'll get the jobs at Elkhorn Lodge but if we don't, I'm afraid most of our chances for good jobs will be shot because of the 47 kids coming from BTR. Some restaurants have said they plan to hire more waitresses later but because of the terribly slow season this year, they don't need any yet. I don't know what else to say, we'll try our dead level best to get something by Sun. nite but I don't know how good our luck will be. Keep praying as we are. Surely the Lord has a plan for us.
"We'll plan to call you Sun. nite if we find out a definite answer from Mr. Lutz. If we don't, we'll call Mon. nite about 9:00 p.m... Love, LeeThe next letter I wrote home was dated July 7, 1964...
What would that letter reveal? Don't miss my next installment...
No comments:
Post a Comment