OT: What was your first job as a teenager?

[Huskyhoops25]

13 years old. Dishwasher at The Inn on Lake Waramaug. One of my duties was to make sure the owner’s Mrs. made it safely up to their quarters upstairs after dinner which always included a bottle of vino as well as several aperitifs.

 

[dvegas]

the best! (that is not me in the Speedo )

 

[GlastonTim]

Caddied at Rolling Hills CC in Wilton in high school. Delivered for florist, then camp counselor. Summers sure were fun with money in your pocket.

 

[uconnbill]

I delivered the Middletown Press in the afternoons I was 11 and 12. I also cut grass and shoveled snow too. I remember the storm of 78 at the age of 14. Man that was a lot of snow

 

[Shamon30]

I chopped vegetables for salads. Once, the guard slipped and I sliced my thumb open. I still have the scar.

 

[JakeTheDog]

First job was at Christmas tree farm/bagged ice delivery place. Trimmed the trees and bagged/delivered ice and ice machines in the non-winter seasons. Cut and bagged trees in the winter. Great job and a peak into high functioning alcoholism.

 

[mauconnfan]

Summer ‘75 (15 yrs old jr to be) and summer ‘76 (16 yrs old sr to be) was summer counselor at Meriden Parks & Rec. First year Israel Putnam MS always had a girl as well as myself so we shared duties…. Me I took care of the boys baseball, wiffle ball, basketball and alike. 2nd year Washington Park which was my neighborhood our baseball team beat every other park we played with the kids had a stud team. Fun job for sure.

 

[storrsroars]

Paperboy for the Stamford Advocate for several years from around 9-13, after which I caddied, mostly at CC Darien, sometimes Woodway. First W-2 job was at Friendly's. I started as a busser/dishwasher and had to redo dishes left by the earlier guy, who in today's terms had an "intellectual development disorder". I was eventually promoted to the front, where I scooped cones. And I was fired because I repeatedly put too much ice cream in them (didn't use that scoop edge method that made the cones mostly air).

 

[dvegas]

First W-2 job was at Friendly's. I started as a busser/dishwasher and had to redo dishes left by the earlier guy, who in today's terms had an "intellectual development disorder". I was eventually promoted to the front, where I scooped cones. And I was fired because I repeatedly put too much ice cream in them (didn't use that scoop edge method that made the cones mostly air).

High Ridge Road? Many Fribble glasses you didn't have to wash because they went out the door with me to be used at UConn keg parties.

 

[ConnecticutBB]

Playground supervisor in my local town. Worked with kids for 12 weeks. Loved it.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Reffed soccer for a bunch of years and then in high school also worked for a contractor painting and repairing dorms and on/off campus housing at Wesleyan

 

[Chin Diesel]

Dairy Queen, Manchester, CT. We were a "Brazier" so had food. Chili dogs, burgers, fries. The manager gave the easy job to girls (taking orders, making ice cream). We guys mostly did the custodial or worked the grill, scrubbed the fry pan, cleaned the ice cream machine at close. Wore an ugly uniform with brown pants and I always smelled terrible when I got home. Seems it is gone now. Pretty sure it was on Broad St.

Peanut Buster Parfait was my go to back in the day.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Paperboy for the Stamford Advocate for several years from around 9-13, after which I caddied, mostly at CC Darien, sometimes Woodway. First W-2 job was at Friendly's. I started as a busser/dishwasher and had to redo dishes left by the earlier guy, who in today's terms had an "intellectual development disorder". I was eventually promoted to the front, where I scooped cones. And I was fired because I repeatedly put too much ice cream in them (didn't use that scoop edge method that made the cones mostly air).

I have a sister who for 20 years reminded us she was an employee of the month at a Friendly's. The plaque on the wall was actually there for about 10 of those years.

This was the same Friendly's the I would sneak out to as an altar boy if there was a funeral in the middle of school day and we got some tips from the grieving family- Grilled cheese, crinkle fries and a sundae. Then back to school.

If you were liberal with the scoops in the Reese's Pieces sundae, I salute you.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Paperboy New Britain Herald. They still owe me money.

Kind of should have seen writing on the wall. When I was a kid that's all I ever wanted to do be a sportswriter. lol

 

[slepers]

There is one on Hartford Road. I worked at a different one over near the Parkade. I'm not sure there was one on Hartford Road back then.

There definitely awash one on Hartford road, used to tide my bike there and got my baseball glove ripped of my bike. There, not that I hold grudges!

 

[husky429]

Reffed soccer for a bunch of years and then in high school also worked for a contractor painting and repairing dorms and on/off campus housing at Wesleyan

To this day I still kick myself for going to try to play D2 instead of going to Wesleyan and getting a killer degree. I was 4 inches shorter than the next closest guard and can't jump

 

[Stinger92860]

I swept the floors of Top Hat Cleaners on Madison Ave in Bridgeport when I was 14.

 

[jleves]

Stuff that would never happen today. When I was 13 my dad hired me to work in back of his electrical company during the summer break. Loading trucks in the morning, sorting and organizing parts in the warehouse all day, sweeping, cleaning, unloading trucks when they came back in the afternoon. 40 hours a week from the Monday after school ended until the Friday before school started.

Within a few weeks I was being sent out as a helper on job sites - carrying wire, nailing up electrical boxes, cleaning up the job site, etc.

When the summer of 14 years old rolled around, I was doing full journeyman stuff - pulling wire, tying in outlets, hanging recessed cans, installing plugs and switches.

I did that for the next 5 years. Taught me some great skills, but there's no way that could happen today. Inspectors would have shut the site down and fined my dad and the builders plenty.

 

[husky429]

Stuff that would never happen today. When I was 13 my dad hired me to work in back of his electrical company during the summer break. Loading trucks in the morning, sorting and organizing parts in the warehouse all day, sweeping, cleaning, unloading trucks when they came back in the afternoon. 40 hours a week from the Monday after school ended until the Friday before school started.

Within a few weeks I was being sent out as a helper on job sites - carrying wire, nailing up electrical boxes, cleaning up the job site, etc.

When the summer of 14 years old rolled around, I was doing full journeyman stuff - pulling wire, tying in outlets, hanging recessed cans, installing plugs and switches.

I did that for the next 5 years. Taught me some great skills, but there's no way that could happen today. Inspectors would have shut the site down and fined my dad and the builders plenty.

My role was pretty similar. My uncle was a carpenter and would hire out his trades and helpers depending on the size of the job. All residential.

I started with a lot of demo (best part), cleaning, hauling tile and wood, and getting the guys lunch. By the end I could do most anything outside of framing that would require an engineer or electrical that would kill me if I got zapped.

It's great skills to have. I've got my hands on almost every room in the house we bought last year. Redid a bathroom myself with a heated floor tile, bunch of windows, new electrical and drywall in 3 rooms, new railing and treads on the main staircase, retrimmed the entire main floor.

 

[eastmill]

Tobacco Picker

Me to
Working for Kendricks

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

My first job was at KMart.

 

[Flipside]

pre-teens, hustling fertilizer and grass seed for the Cub Scouts

 

[superjohn]

Pawcatuck, CT Dairy Queen for me. Ages 16-20. Best job I’ve had in my life by far. The guy who owned it had the ideal life (basically worked 01Apr-31Oct). He was an awesome dude.

For food We only had hotdogs that we cooked in the microwave and chili.

We opened at 11 and closed at 10 so I could party all night just off my tips, sleep in, and still work the next day. ate my first meal of the day there as well as my last.

I started at 5.25, 10 cents more than min wage which felt like a big deal at the time.
I lived off the cash tips and didn’t even really need my paycheck. Ah to be young.

Only part that sucked was emptying all the trash cans at close. They were gross smelled and leaked all over you.

I don't know where all the money went. I was making the equivalent of $22 per hour under the table in today money, had nothing to pay for and I don't really remember buying anything yet I somehow spent everything. I didn't even open a checking account until after college.

 

[History Geek]

Was it the Bridgeport Flyer perhaps? I'm gonna miss that diner, never had a bad meal there, and it sobered us up on many a nights.

First steady paying job was working at an audio/video chain store that has long been defunct. We'd have a sale, some dipwad would buy a big TV, then pull up with a small car:
Me: Sir, the box is not going to fit in that car.
Them: Sure it will.
Me: No it won't, not in the box, not in the trunk or backseat
Them: Yes it will, try it
Me: grumble grumble mutter...Yep, told you, gotta take it out of the box
Every. Single. Time.

Gold Colony Diner, on the exit 55 off ramp on the Wilbur Cross southbound.

 

[gtcam]

Thought it was on Hartford Road? We used to go there all the time. Was there another one in Manchester? The good old days when Dairy Queen was everywhere.

yep there was one on Broad St
as a Burger King on Main St