NO ALLOWANCE

I had a memory this morning while I was wiping the dust off my dress shoes for church.

WIWAK*, my mom would – about once a month – hand me the family ‘shoe-shine box’ and take me to the garage where she would have all of the family dress shoes piled up.  I was to shine all the shoes.  I didn’t question her on this assignment; I just settled in and did the job. I didn’t get paid for doing it, it was just part of my responsibility as the youngest member of the family.

I had other jobs too.

·         In the summer, I cut all the grass.

·         In the fall, I raked and burned all the leaves.

·         In the winter, I shoveled all the snow.

·         Occasionally, I’d be asked to wash the car.

·         In the spring I was asked to wash all of the screens for the windows and install them.  In the fall, I had to pack them away again for the winter.

There were probably other jobs that I’ve forgotten after sixty years or so.

My parents didn’t believe in allowances.  They didn’t hand me money, except a few rare occasions:

·         They would often go shopping with their best friends [Speed and Estella Fisher] on Friday nights.  Sometimes they’d go to ‘Northern Lights’ in Baden.  Other times they'd go to Boardman, Ohio and shop in a Gaylord’s store there.  They had other favorite spots, all of which were huge department stores/discount houses.  [Later, when I became older, they’d allow me to stay home alone.]  When we went to Gaylords, my dad would almost always give me a dime to spend.  He knew there were some arcade games in the back.  I would spend a good bit of time deciding which game I wanted to play.

·         When we went to Family Camp for ten days every July in East Liverpool, Ohio, he would give me a quarter every day – except Sundays, of course!  I usually bought ‘penny candy’ and pop cycles – which were $.05.  I learned early how to stretch money.  Of course, I also went through the straw in the tabernacle and frequently doubled my money by doing so!  Plus, I would pick up pop bottles and return them for $.02.  👌

I never complained about these small gifts – I thought they were great!

My dad was a firm believer in something that became a reality during the industrial revolution.  I later studied about it in college and seminary.  It was called the Protestant Work Ethic.  This emerged from the Puritan and Calvinistic beliefs of the early founders of our nation who believed that working was a way of fulfilling one’s duty to God.  Therefore, the work of ordinary believers had a dignity of its own.

“After flourishing for three centuries in America, the Protestant ethic began to disintegrate, with key elements slowly disappearing from modern American society, vanishing from schools, from business, from popular culture, and leaving us with an economic system unmoored from the restraints of civic virtue.”

[https://www.city-journal.org/article/whatever-happened-to-the-work-ethic]

The way this played out in my home was for my father to get me a job taking care of our doctor’s lawn all summer and fall.  I was eleven. The first two Saturdays, he took me to Dr. Chadwick’s home across from the Beaver County Country Club on Patterson Heights in Beaver Falls. 

He literally taught me how to work.

·         Don’t work real hard and then sit down for a rest.  Work steadily the whole time you’re there.

·         Never sit down to do your work!  If necessary [for instance, when mulching] work on your knees.  “You don’t want Mrs. Chadwick to look out and see you sitting down.”

·         Do a good job!  They’re paying you a dollar-an-hour – earn your money!

·         Be proud of your work when it’s all done – not until!

There were other points too – I don’t consciously remember them all.

So, every Saturday, I would ride my bike from Brighton Heights to the doctor’s – probably four miles that included some very steep hills. 

For an eleven-year-old-kid to be away from home all day Saturdays indicates that it was a far different period than we currently know.

As I got older, I would stop at Waite’s restaurant at the top of Ross Hill for a hot fudge Sunday before heading home.  😉 

I eventually picked up several other lawns to care for including Mr. Zachary Taylor’s home out Mercer road.  I’ve never admitted this before because he was the principal of the New Brighton High School.  I kept the fact that I worked for him a secret [until now] for fear of being ridiculed.  Once I turned sixteen, I picked up two or three more lawns in Beaver. 

I also had a TV Guide route all through my teen years.  That was nice because I only had to deliver it one day per week!  I had over seventy customers. Want some humor?  At that time, they cost $.15.  I made $.04 for each one that I delivered.  My dresser always had stacks of coins on it.  My mom taught me to take 10% and set it aside for my tithe.  Dad spoke to the church treasurer who, in turn, handed me a box of envelopes to use for my offering.  When my dad dropped his envelope into the plate, so did I - even though it only contained a few coins. 

My mom gave me $.35 every day for my lunch during high school.  Although we had an open lunch period, we were still allowed to buy our lunch [for $.35] at the Junior High cafeteria. 

Sadly, I have to admit that somedays that money was taken from me by bullies.  😒

However, I had several friends that would join me in hustling down to the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe for lunch.  I would order three hot dogs with ‘everything-mustard’, a chili-fry, and a chocolate milkshake.  With $.05 tax, the order came to $1.  Because I worked, I was always able to add my own money to what my mom gave me and pay the bill. 

Please understand that we weren’t a poor family!  In early 1957, my parents bought a brand new home on William Penn Way – moving from Mt. Washington in Beaver Falls.  My dad worked forty-eight years for Townsend Company – mostly at Fallston, but some years at Elwood City and one year in Butler. 

As much as I loved sports, I received no encouragement to participate in them.  I regret that.  My encouragement was to work! 

I hope you don’t misunderstand this.  My parents had an approach to Christmas that was almost embarrassing!  I got everything that I would need for the year under the Christmas tree.  The gifts would be piled high!  It would take all morning to open them.  They would include:

·         New tennis shoes

·         New underwear [jokingly called ‘seat covers’ in our home]

·         Packets of Bic pens

·         Shirts

·         Pants: dress and blue jeans

·         School supplies

·         And, of course, toys and other gifts.

I remember being teased at school after Christmas break because every day I would wear a new shirt.  “Is that shirt a Christmas present, Harold?” 

When I turned sixteen, my dad went out and bought a 1963 Chevy Impala that was in great shape.  I loved that car!  He said, “Now son, this is your mother’s car, but you can feel free to use it anytime that she doesn’t need it.”  The car was virtually my car, because my mom didn’t like to drive and rarely needed it!  I could see my dad’s plan!  😉  A lot of Fridays, my mom would ask me to drive her around to pay bills and buy groceries.  I loved doing that!  And she loved having me do it! 

I had a remarkable childhood!  My parents gave me so much that would later help me to be fruitful and effective as I matured into adulthood. 

I never rebelled against their authority.  Oh, I smoked a few cigarettes and let a few profanities fly, but those were mostly to gain approval from my friends and classmates.  I loved my parents and tried my best to honor them.  They were one of the greatest blessings that God gave me!

I think what I got was much better than any allowance might have been!  😊❤

 

*  WIWAK  =  When I Was A Kid