Genealogists and family historians get a lot of
satisfaction from chasing their ancestors’ stories. Finding a diary, a message
on a postcard, or a photo with a name attached is like the sun coming out after
a storm. One day we will be somebody’s ancestor. We need to leave our
descendants a little bit of sunshine too. So here is my story told
alphabetically, not chronologically: Growing Up in Cradock.
is for money.
I do not recall getting an allowance regularly. When I
asked for an allowance, I’d sometimes be given one, but after a while it would
stop. I’m not sure why. Maybe my parents forgot. Maybe I forgot. Admittedly, if
I wanted money, I needed only to ask and I would receive, so a true allowance
was never very important. Even when I was in high school and my friends were
getting real paychecks from summer employment, I was not expected to go to
work.
Sometimes though I felt obligated to be deserving of
money, even as a little kid. That’s when I would create a menu of chores I was
willing to perform and how much money I expected for doing so. The chores
included dusting, vacuuming, making beds, sweeping the walk, and doing dishes.
Of course, there were varied rates for dusting only the living room, for
example, as opposed to every room in the house. My number one customer was my maternal grandmother, Lucille Rucker Davis. I think she found my little business amusing. She was one who
would have gladly handed me some spare dimes and quarters for the asking, but
she would hire me every time.
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| Wendy and Mary Jollette August 1959 in our grandparents' living room. There was plenty of dusting to do! |
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| Grandma - my satisfied customer |
Once in a while, maybe out of boredom, my Frailey Place friends and I would set up a Kool-Aid stand. One day our only customer was a
man working on the light poles. We split our profits, but we knew it was
tougher to make a buck on a Kool-Aid stand than we were led to believe by stories
of great success as reported in our kid magazines.
My favorite money was the silver dollars and $2-bills
that my paternal grandparents Fred and Julia Slade gave me on birthdays and Christmas. I spent the
$2-bills but still have the silver coins.
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| Morgan silver dollars |
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| Peace silver dollars |
Avoid malady and malaise but be malleable to being
mesmerized by the maelstrom of magniloquent and mellifluous myths and metaphors
offered by the mavens of the blogisphere at the A to Z April Challenge.
© 2016, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
I never had a pocket money allowance, but only had to ask if I need money for thinks - I had to say what they were. MY 'unrewarded' task was to walk the dog and who would want payment for that. I also had to cut the lawn.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I was paid for a holiday job, I didn't know what to do with all the cash. Unfortunately my grandparents died before I was born so I was not spoilt by them.
Chores are a good thing and shouldn't be rewarded. No one gives me money for washing clothes or cooking dinner.
DeleteWe got allowances off and on but then if we needed something or wanted something, my mom would try to do her best to make sure we got it. I do remember doing a lot of babysitting when I was old enough to do so. I didn't like to do it, but liked the money it paid.
ReplyDeletebetty
I did a little babysitting if a neighbor or family friend asked, but I didn't go looking for work.
DeleteI was given pocket money every Saturday and cannot remember these being linked to doing chores. When I was around 15 years old, a friend and I went to a small department store to ask abut Saturday jobs. However we failed dismally when it came to the question of giving accurate change - maths was never my strong point!
ReplyDeleteCounting change - now that's a skill nearly lost.
DeleteWe did chores, got a small allowance, and got jobs when we were old enough. I babysat but it was never my favorite. One of my first jobs was at Six Flags Over Texas. It was a blast.
ReplyDeleteYour REAL job must have been fun. Did you have any employee privileges?
DeleteWe all had to do chores and didn't get an allowance in the early days. There was no place to spend money. I had birthday money from old aunts. We lived at one end of town and the convenience store was at the other. If we walked to the store keeping our eyes peeled, we usually found a few pennies or a refundable bottle to be able to get some penny candy once we reached the store.
ReplyDeleteOnce we started high school my parents gave us an allowance. Then I got a job at a department store for weekends, selling ladies gloves and hosiery.
I did the same with my kids, but they could do extra chores for money around Christmas time. In high school they got an allowance. At 16 they got a job at the near-by Parc Safari and had to put half their pay away for living in the city for college.
Imagine having money and nowhere to spend it - that's no fun!
DeleteI was given small amounts of pocket money at first and then encouraged to do chores like ironing or washing the car. Then when child endowment came in that became my clothing allowance every month. It was a good budgeting tool and made me realise the value of money.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I ever got the hang of budgeting. HA HA
DeleteI came over from Collection in Texas. As for money I was never handed freely. Once when I was young adult and being "stupid" and made a bad choice. I ask my mom to help me out and she said "no" and actual she did me a favor.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Tough Love Momma. That's hard to do. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteDad's favourite saying was "Money doesn't grow on trees!"
ReplyDeleteI haven't made either of my children work while studying so they could concentrate on their studies but this has gone against them as they have "no experience".
I didn't work during college and neither did my girls. Like you, our policy was that college was their work.
DeleteI started getting an allowance of 10 cents a week when I was probably around 8 years old. That went up until when I got to college (I lived at home)it was $5 a week. I worked during high school for family members - babysitting and at my uncles printing shop. I worked while I was at college and during those times I didn't get the allowance. Don't remember asking for money. There was more the money doesn't grow on trees going on at my house. We had chores but they weren't tied to an allowance.
ReplyDeleteFinding Eliza
My parents sent me money when I was in college. I had a bank account that they could deposit in, but they usually sent a little cash with a letter.
DeleteI didn't get a job but had to do small jobs. I did get some money when I polished Grandma's silver or dusted. And then there was Bob-a-Job for Girl Guides. I started holiday jobs at the end of high school, working in a book shop selling school texts.
ReplyDelete