<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On those occasions when my students would complain the work I had assigned was boring, I would play the \u2018Helen Toivonen Card\u2019.\u00a0 As an educational mentor, they didn\u2019t come much better than Helen.\u00a0 If her students complained, she would agree with them and say, \u201cYou are right.\u00a0 This is soooo boring, why don\u2019t you just not do it?\u201d\u00a0 This confused them immensely:\u00a0 \u201cIf we don\u2019t do it, we won\u2019t get credit . . . right?\u201d\u00a0 I learned from Helen that the correct response to this question was, \u201cTrue, but you won\u2019t have to do all this boring stuff.\u201d\u00a0 When I used this tactic. some students would sense a loophole.\u00a0 They figured if they could turn it into some sort of \u2018student\u2019s rights\u2019 debate, it would be my fault they didn\u2019t get their work done because I was taking up their time with a group discussion. \u00a0 My exit strategy from this loophole was always, \u201cYeah, teaching is SO boring.\u00a0 If it had paid better, I would have stayed with being a dishwasher.\u201d\u00a0 None of them ever figured out how washing dishes was less boring than the work they originally complained about, so the debate would end.\u00a0 Anytime I pulled out the \u2018Helen card\u2019, I would report it to her, even after she retired, she would smile and nod approvingly.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I never intended to be a dishwasher.\u00a0 The call came for me to start work as a busboy at the Huron Mountain Club in June of 1971 because a couple of the kitchen crew quit after working less than a week of the summer season.\u00a0 Having had no luck finding a job the summer before I started college was a rather strange experience.\u00a0 I applied at the Ramada and Holiday Inns only to be told they were reluctant to hire me for kitchen work if I didn\u2019t have any experience.\u00a0 I asked the Holiday Inn manager, \u201cHow much experience did you have when you applied for your first job?\u201d knowing full well it wouldn\u2019t help my prospects.\u00a0 He looked at me blankly and returned to his office without answering my question.\u00a0 I chalked it up to \u2018I am glad I won\u2019t have to work for you\u2019 and kept looking.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Shopko had only recently opened the first big box store in Marquette, so I gave them a try.\u00a0 The guy I interviewed with said, \u201cWe don\u2019t have any openings, but I will take your application just in case.\u201d\u00a0 Then he asked me if I knew how much Michigan\u2019s 4 percent tax would be on a $100 purchase.\u00a0 When I hesitated, he pressed me and asked if I knew how to do the math.\u00a0 I replied, \u201cSure, it would be $4.\u00a0 I just wasn\u2019t sure why you were asking as I thought the cash registers took care of that part.\u201d\u00a0 Needless to say, he never called back and I again filed it under, \u201cOkay, I am fine with not working there.\u201d\u00a0 I shared my story with a clerk at the same store once when she was waiting for someone to check the price on an item I was buying.\u00a0 She asked, \u201cSo what kind of job did you end up getting?\u201d\u00a0 I told her I became a JH Geography\/Earth Science teacher.\u00a0 In answer to the next logical question (\u201cWhat do you teach?\u201d) I said, \u201cJH Geography – Earth Science and she laughed – \u201cOh I would have figured you were going to say a Math teacher after all that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Dad had mentioned that he had coffee every week or so with the former Marquette County Sheriff who was now the resident manager at the Huron Mountain Club.\u00a0 I had stowed that info underl \u2018last resort\u2019 but finally followed his advice to put in an application at the Club\u2019s main office in Marquette.\u00a0 They gave me the standard, \u201cThe summer crew is filled, but if something opens up, we will give you a call.\u201d\u00a0 If I was disappointed, there wasn\u2019t enough time for me to dwell on it because they called me the following day and instructed me to be at the club at 10 AM the next morning.\u00a0 I called dad at his office and said, \u201cOkay, I got the job.\u00a0 Where is the Huron Mountain Club and how do I get there?\u00a0 All they told me was I would have one day a week off.\u201d Dad said, \u201cWell pack your suitcase and I will drop you off.\u00a0 When I pick you up on your first day off we will figure out the transportation part.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I arrived at the club in time to drop my bag in my room and get directions to the kitchen.\u00a0 I was told to find Grace, the head of the dining room crew.\u00a0 She in turn pointed me to the head busboy, John MacDonald, who greeted me with a cheery, \u201cWhat in the heck are you doing here?\u201d\u00a0 We had sat next to each other in high school physics the previous year.\u00a0 At that point this was all new to me and John was the only familiar face in the room.\u00a0 I suddenly felt a little less like a fish out of water – \u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m the new busboy,\u201d was my snappy comeback.\u00a0 Everything I learned about being a busboy I learned from John and there was more to it than just toting heavy trays of dishes out of the dining rooms.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t rocket science, but trays loaded with dirty dishes had to be carried on one\u2019s fingertips (not with a hand flat on the bottom of the tray).\u00a0 This provided more control while navigating the maze of tables and chairs on route to the dish room.\u00a0 We also set up, lit, and fed the fireplace in the club room when a fire was requested.\u00a0 We did flag duty out in front of the clubhouse porch (raising in the morning, take down and folding in the evening), swept the beach sand off the same long porch, swept and mopped the dining rooms, hauled the kitchen garbage to the loading dock, and any number of other chores that popped up.\u00a0 There were few idle moments when we were on the clock.\u00a0 If one of the cook\u2019s in the bakery or pantry saw you sitting down, they were always glad to find you something to keep you busy.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A couple of days later, three new kitchen workers joined us.\u00a0 They were cousins from the Ishpeming area and one of them ended up as my roommate.\u00a0 Our schedule revolved around breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a couple of hours down time in between.\u00a0 Our routine got busier as the summer wore on and more people showed up at the club.\u00a0 We occasionally were sent to pick up new arrivals at the Marquette County Airport in a club vehicle.\u00a0 Unloading the supply truck (for the club store and kitchen) was also on our list of chores.\u00a0 The regular club delivery guy was recovering from a recent surgery, so I was dispatched with him to pick up a refrigerator from the kitchen manager\u2019s old house in Deertrack Village just outside of Marquette.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how far along Andy was in his post surgery recovery, but he pretty much hoisted the dolly holding the unit we picked up with me adding not much more than moral support.\u00a0 The truck bed was a good five feet off the ground.\u00a0 When he lifted the fridge (he was standing in the truck bed), he almost yanked it out of my hands as I \u2018assisted\u2019 from ground level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While most of the kitchen help didn\u2019t like getting extra duties added to their day (we got paid the same rate per day no matter how many hours we worked), I kind of liked the break in routine.\u00a0 After helping Andy retrieve the refrigerator, I earned the job of driving his truck around the club grounds making deliveries to the kitchen, garage, and workshop.\u00a0 Driving this large panel truck across the wooden bridge over the Pine River in the middle of the compound took some getting used to.\u00a0 On several occasions, I was dispatched in the club van to Marquette, Negaunee, and Ishpeming to pick up supplies when Andy had other duties to attend to.\u00a0 I had never driven a van before and this was one of those that had the engine housing between the front seats and the driver seat was actually a little ahead of the front wheels.\u00a0 It took a little to get used to how it handled, but skipping a lunch shift to make a pick up run was fine with me.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How did I get to be the dishwasher after my illustrious beginnings as a busboy?\u00a0 We worked six days a week and when the pot washer or dishwasher had their day off, one of the busboys would rotate over and take their job for a day.\u00a0 I only did the pot washer\u2019s job a couple of times over the three summers I was at the club, but that was enough for me.\u00a0 It was a higher paying job, but starting each morning with a criss-crossed pile of bacon grease covered pans taller than me wasn\u2019t a great way to start the day.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t a head scratcher why we went through three pot washers in three summers – it was tough duty.\u00a0 We did the same rotation for the dishwasher\u2019s day off, but for some reason, I liked that job.\u00a0 Once the other busboys found out I liked it, they usually offered to swap with me on their rotation days.\u00a0 It became a full time gig for me early in August when the three cousins and the dishwasher had enough bolted for home instead of finishing the last few weeks of the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We were expected to work through Labor Day weekend.\u00a0 I answered an early morning phone call on one of my days off in July and found myself talking to the NMU Marching Band director. Somewhere on my college application I had indicated a possible interest in the band so he rang to recruit me for their drumline.\u00a0 I explained I was working out of town until Labor Day and would not be able to do their band boot camp in August.\u00a0 He was dangerously enthusiastic about me needing to be part of the marching band, but I told him a) I would really like to get my summer job back next year and that wouldn\u2019t happen if I left early and b) I would think it over.\u00a0 By the time the phone hit the cradle, I knew my marching band days were over.\u00a0 I would be playing the drums in the future, it just would not be with NMU\u2019s marching band.\u00a0 My first year out of high school, I took a furlough from playing in any bands while I acclimated to college life. \u00a0 I did buy a small reedy sounding organ which helped me a lot figuring out new songs and improve my understanding of guitar chord figures, but that is as close as I got to being in a band until the fall of 1972 when I joined \u2018Cloudy and Cool\u2019 (soon to be renamed \u2018Knockdown\u2019).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With the kitchen staff now whittled down to two busboys and me (now washing dishes full time), the kitchen manager gave us a little pep talk.\u00a0 He said, \u201cBoys, it is kind of late in the summer to be hiring new staff.\u00a0 If you guys can handle it for the rest of the summer, I will see you get a little something extra when we finish up.\u201d\u00a0 John and I had talked about this possible scenario and had already decided that we could make it work.\u00a0 The dishwasher I replaced was as slow as molasses in January.\u00a0 We had already noticed we were getting out of the kitchen thirty to sixty minutes earlier per shift on his days off.\u00a0 The waitresses agreed there were enough of them to help us if we got behind clearing the dining rooms so we geared up for the stretch run.\u00a0 August was always the busiest month of the summer and for some meals, we were pushing the dishes for 160 in the children\u2019s dining room.\u00a0 The kid\u2019s meals would finish up slightly ahead of the main dining room hours so we would clear the decks, have a quick cup of coffee and then sling dishes for 250 or more adults who would invade the big dining room.\u00a0 It got a little tricky when one of us had our day off, but we wasted very few steps and got more efficient.\u00a0 The other thing I liked about John:\u00a0 he was always looking for the most efficient way to get things done and this attitude was a big help time that first August.\u00a0 If there were too many tables to bus, I would throw a jacket over my apron and tote trays for a while.\u00a0 When John got caught up, he would come and stack the clean dishes.\u00a0 A mournful look while drying a pile of silverware was usually enough to get one of the waitresses to step in to help.\u00a0 We were a well oiled machine by the time Labor Day rolled around.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The kitchen manager kept his word about us getting a little \u2018something extra\u2019 for going above and beyond so he did not have to hire anyone else.\u00a0 We never asked what the \u2018something extra\u2019 might be.\u00a0 We just assumed we would get a little bonus in our last check.\u00a0 The night we finished our last shift, the manager walked into the dish room, clapped a hand on our shoulders (the dish crew was down to just John and I the last weekend of the season) and said, \u201cYou boys did a great job.\u00a0 Thank you.\u201d\u00a0 That was it.\u00a0 Apparently he ran the kitchen operation a little looser than the club\u2019s Kitchen Committee wanted it to run and he was let go, presumably without getting his bonus, too.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not long after the summer was over, Ted, the head chef, got a hold of John to let him know he would be taking over as the kitchen manager.\u00a0 When John passed the information along to me, we were happy as clams because Ted was a younger guy and a lot of fun to work with.\u00a0 The \u2018little something extra\u2019 we had been promised for working our butts off in August turned out to be, literally, a pat on the back but we didn\u2019t hold Ted at fault for the slight.\u00a0 Ted was gungho about the next summer and he wanted to make sure John and I would be on the kitchen crew so he wouldn\u2019t have to worry about training all new kids.\u00a0 We assured him we were and had already planned on being roommates the next summer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Part 2, of <\/span>Life in the Dish Lane,<\/span><\/i> we will look at my third and final year manning the Hobart dish machine at the HMC.\u00a0 It would be my last summer working as a \u2018Scrubber Brother\u2019 but not my last working in a kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Piece Video – Very few songs about dish washing, but Joe Walsh gives us a peek at what inspired the title:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On those occasions when my students would complain the work I had assigned was boring, I would play the \u2018Helen Toivonen Card\u2019.\u00a0 As an educational mentor, they didn\u2019t come much better than Helen.\u00a0 If her students complained, she would agree with them and say, \u201cYou are right.\u00a0 This is soooo boring, why don\u2019t you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11,8,12,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-humor","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2456"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2459,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456\/revisions\/2459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}