These two pictures are from my beginning employment at the Battery St. Drug Store. The one on the bike was for my early morning Gazette paper delivery and the other was taken in front of the drug store. I really enjoyed my time working for Mr Wade. He was a source of encouragement to me. It was here that i begin to realize that i enjoyed being around people. It was easy to get acquainted with so many on a first name basis and also meet elderly as well whom i respected so much. Mr Williams who ran the bicycle shop was a big help to me. I would go by every chance i got and just watched him work on bicycles. Of course i got a lot of work on mine at no cost. The Baptist Hospital was 2 blocks from the drug store and at that time there was a dorm there for nurses in training. The drug store was a place they came to frequently just to enjoy the soda fountain. There were several that became good friends and like for me to wait on them. It could have been because i saved wrigleys gum for them. Everthing was rationed but we would get a couple of boxes with our candy orders and i would hide some gum back for the nurses. It was during this time also i met three soldiers from Camp Robinson who were dating three of the nurses. They become good friends also and on a couple of occasions they invited me out to camp on Saturdays and would explain all the different types of artillery they used in training.
My job changed somewhat after a while on the job. With Mr Wade being the only Pharmicist, i would wait on customers other than the soda fountain. I also made ice cream used for shakes and malts. Also made Pimento cheese for sandwiches and the clear syrup used at the fountain. There were no other drug stores near so business was good. At the time, i did not realize it but the experiences i had working here would benefit me later on in life. I relied a lot on others like Mr Wade to guide me in the right direction. Not having a father figure sometimes made it difficult in decision making but i looked to others for their guidance. Like the time as a prank i padlocked the Ship Ahoy restaurant a couple of doors down from the outside so noone could get in or out. Later on Mr Wade had a Detective talk to me just enough to convince me not to do that again. I spent a lot of time at the restaurant with my buddies playing the pin ball machine. We knew how to cheat it so we could play for hours without having to put money in it. Anyway this was a part of growing up and i had a lot of growing up to do. Later, i will tell about a young lady i met at the drug store that helped me to grow up in a hurry.