Morrows and More

Mrs. Castle scared the dickens out of me. There is no other way to put it. I had been hired to sweep the floors in Morrows starting after school from 3 -5 PM, and then again on Saturdays. Once a month I was suppose to wash the outside display windows, which was no easy job. I was a freshman at the time, and this would be the first of two times that I would work at Morrows.

Mrs Castle was the bookkeeper for the store, and her offices were at the top of the staircase . Part of my job description was to sweep her office each day and empty her trash as well as to mop her office as needed. She was one of those angular older women who looked and talked tough. You sometimes wondered if they had a secret in their pants. She was stern with me from the very moment that we were introduced, but I thought that I also detected a twinkle behind those thick glasses.

I brought up Mrs. Castle, not to pick on her, we actually became quite good friends over the next several years., but rather to one again emphasize how different it was back in the late sixties and early seventies as far as work ethic goes. Mrs. Castle not only made one fearful of her, she also made one want to please here by doing one's job in a professional and complete manner. I wanted her praise, and over time, I earned it. All of the  store owners in Wallace, and most of the employees were proud people, and it showed in their work ethic. Ah yes, those were good days.