Wondering about my first employment.

My first job was a chicken cooker for Kentucky Fried Chicken.  That was more of a temporary job on summer vacations.  When I got a call from a good friend who said if I wanted a job at the huge Pullman-Standard rail car manufacturing facility in Butler, PA to be at the employment office first thing in the morning and his uncle, who was a foreman there, would have me hired.  Of course I was there first thing in the morning waiting for the office to open up.  There were really only two big companies in my area, one was Armco Steel and the other was Pullman.

I got hired in and worked the first two years in the labor gang, which gave me a complete over view of all the workings of the huge plant.  I was told at the time that Pullman's rail car building plant was the second largest building under one roof in the U.S.  It was huge and while in the labor gang I even had to work on the roof.  From up there you could get the view of the entire building and it was huge.  After a couple of years the guys said I should put my resume in the office since I had a couple of years of college.  I went to Penn State for two years and was planning to go back after I and my family could get enough money for the tuition and living there.  To make a long story short, I got an offer to work in the Die, Tool, Jig & Fixture design department and I didn't leave Pullman for 17 years until I got an offer in Michigan that I couldn't refuse.  Thanks to what I learned working at Pullman, it allowed me to do the design work that I have loved doing for the rest of my working life.  In fact, I didn't actually retire until I reached the age of 70.

What, you may ask, prompted me to write this blog?  Well the fact is when I was digging around looking for the pictures I put on yesterday's blog, I came across this picture of all of us who worked together in the office of Pullman-Standard:

Can you pick me out of that group?  Four of the seven of us have passed away.  I do want to say that all of them were and are a great bunch of guys.

Well, were you able to pick me out?  I will give you a clue if you didn't.  I hated to wear a tie and I can not remember the last time I wore one.  I will wear a Bolo tie, but never a necktie.  Sorry if I am boring you with my memories, but I want you to have a great day, you hear?