What was your first boss like?

 What was your first boss like? 

Well since you asked it was a job I got all my myself on a neighbors dairy farm, I believe I was 10 at the time the year was 1963.  I would walk to work from my house down old country roads (Highway 17) to the Casper’s Dairy Farm in Bay Township, Ohio. The Casper’s had a very well keep 60 cow operation.

Mr. Casper had two grown sons that were away at college, as best I can remember.  The farm was very well kept and had a long drive way with a white house and red barn and a silo.  I would work in the summers helping to milk the cows in the morning, leaving my house at about 5 AM and walking the 2.5 miles to their farm.  I loved milking cows, it was so calm in the morning with the sounds of the milking machines running, radio playing in the back ground and then there were all the smells of the animals and the farm in general.  When we finished milking and cleaning up the barn we would feed the calves… this was my favorite part.

There was always about 6-10 bottle calves that would just make you feel good, bawling for breakfast and jumping around.  Once we finished we would spend the rest of the morning taking care of other tasks on the farm, there were always many and they always varied.  

Mr. Casper was a very quite and deliberate man, every move seemed to be with purpose.  He was not a big talker, just giving the  cursory good morning and instructions as needed.

He did a good job of explaining things one time and after that left it up to me to figure out.  We never talked much and I did not really know much about him, the farm was his life and he seemed to be happy.  

We would break everyday at 11 AM for lunch and boy was it a spread.  I don’t recall his wife’s name but she could cook.  Always a full meal, meat, potatoes and more and always with dessert.  Strange as this was it seemed normal at the time, when we went in we would take our shoes and pants off…I know weird by today’s standards but we would sit around the table and eat lunch pants less.  After lunch there was mandatory 30 minute nap, at first it caught me off guard and I would lay there and toss and turn and I thought this is crazy.  After about a week, I would lay down and pass out.  They would always have to wake me up after that and as time went on by the time lunch was over I would be falling asleep.   My whole life, since then, I can fall asleep anywhere very quickly.  

My favorite day of the week was always Friday…pay day.  I made about a 110 cents an hour, so I would make about 45 dollars for a full week but most weeks were about 30 dollars.  Mr. Casper would write me a check, which was very strange the first time he did it because I was not sure what to do with it.  My Mom drove me to the little store to cash it, no ID, no bank account just cash for the first time in my life, I was hooked.  On that day, I could buy what ever I wanted and I did, pop, candy bars and chips…freedom.  Looking back it was the end of my childhood but it was good.