MY FIRST JOB

Just about ten days ago I had landed in the U.S.A. now living in my cousin's home where my sister had lived for seven months and worked in a dressmaking establishment for seven dollars a week. I was trying to be helpful with the house chores, but that was not my aim in life. Finding a job turned out to be a serious worry however, on the part of the whole family, particularly for me.

One fine day my cousin said to me, "If you are that concerned, I'll take you to my furrier who might do something in this respect". My sister dressed me up like a real 'Yankee' and off we went to Boston with our fingers crossed. The trip, to our sorrow, turned out to be of no avail. On the way home to Chelsea, we stopped off at a paper-stand where a peddler stood selling goodies and soft drinks and we refreshed ourselves. My cousin opened her heart to this stranger and told him of her problem in finding a job for her "greene cousine." He looked me over, hesitated a few seconds and said, "Wait here a few minutes. I know a place where she can get a job."

The few minutes turned out to be an eternity to me, but sure enough he came back running, hardly able to catch his breath, and cried out, "Let's go!"

The mattress place he brought us to was only two blocks away. While walking, I learned that our benefactor came from a small town near Vilno where my mother's aunt and cousins lived, and he knew the whole family. One of the bosses was his brother-in-law. After several minutes of interviewing by my "landsman", an arrangement was made for me to come to work the next day.

I don't remember how I ever got there, but I was on time. The forelady and four operators were very helpful in teaching me how to run an electric power machine. The first half of the day was spent practicing, stop and go', 'stop and go'. By the next half, I already was on the production line, and couldn't be happier if I had struck oil in Texas. The job and I had a successful marriage and a happy one all around for twelve consecutive years. I was happy because of the congenial attitude of the people surrounding me and soon received a promotion from operator to cutter, which was a more sophisticated job, at an advanced salary from four dollars a week to seven.

On our lunch hour, the girls gathered around me on the floor, sitting on the folded up covers, and enjoying the stories I read for them printed in the Daily Foreword. Mostly, they enjoyed the Bintle Briefe which contained tragic and unfortunate occurrences of family life, making them laugh, sigh or cry.

There was a girl working with me who was an excellent dancer. She taught me to dance the waltz, tango and foxtrot. That's how far my dancing career went. Thus, going to work was for me like going to a party every day inspite of the forty-five minutes walk each day.