A Monday Memory....

Anyone remember Tice Farms?

No, not the shopping mall.  The actual farm and farm building.  

The fruit and veg area. The bakery. The freshly made cider each Autumn. The donut shop.

Ah yes, the donut shop.

My first proper job.  Working papers and everything.  

Do you still need working papers these days?

I worked on Saturdays and Sundays, 7am to 5pm, the Autumn of 1969.  

For one dollar an hour. Farm wages.

Sugar, cinnamon or plain?

I think it was $1.25 for a dozen.

"No, ma'am, I can't give you a 'baker's dozen' of thirteen."

I was trained not only to sell the donuts, but to retrieve them from the powered sugar or cinnamon tumblers, the racks of freshly glazed donuts, etc. and line them up on long trays, 

ready for sale.

All day long, the line of anxious customers would stretch from the building section with the picture window above left, down to the area where you see two people next to a car.  Most people were patient, but there were times when tempers would flare.  

One particular Saturday, as all the workers were madly trying to fill orders, 

I had a bit of a mishap.  

There was a tall trolley which held multiple trays of the donuts.  New batches of full trays of donuts were placed in the slats of the trolley. When the trays in the glass display cabinet emptied, you were to replace it with one from the trolley.  You were not supposed to pull a tray halfway out from the trolley and bag the donuts from there, which could lead to a problem. 

Apparently, someone didn't get that part of the instructions.

As I rushed around, trying to replenish the trays in the trolley, I quickly pushed in a full tray of cinnamon donuts into what I thought was an empty slot. To my horror, it pushed a nearly full tray out the other side and onto the floor.

There was an audible gasp from about 15 customers, crowded in front of the counter.  One woman shouted out, "Oh my God - did you see what she did?"

Shhhh - admonished one of my coworkers, as we quickly scooped up the fallen donuts and tossed them in the garbage can.  Another worker then threw some paper bags on top, in an effort to hide the evidence.  For if the fallen food were discovered, it would mean losing my entire day's pay!

I think I only lasted about twelve weeks in that job.  It was absolutely exhausting. 

My hair and clothes were covered in powdered sugar and I reeked of greasy oil.

It nearly put me off eating donuts ever again. 

Nearly....