History of John Smith Griffin
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Early Washington - 1931

Having to work all day and many evenings, I had no opportunity to get out and try to find another job. I had resolved to work there and save my money until summer and then quit and try to find something so that I could go to school when it started in the fall. Time passed fast and as thanksgiving approached and the weather got bad, the paint business fell off appreciably. The result was that two or three of us were rushing after every customer and just standing around between customers. One day I received a message that the personnel manager wanted to see me. I went to his office and was quite surprised when he informed me that they were laying me off because there was not enough work for all of the clerks in the paint department. This was a bitter pill and I really told the personnel man what I thought of Sears insomuch as I had exceeded all the other clerks and the manager in sales in the paint department. The personnel man told me that there was nothing he could do about it, that he was merely following orders. I asked if I could see the manager. He said that he would see if he would talk to me. I was finally ushered into the managers office and I told him what I thought of their employment system. I noticed that he was quite interested in what I had to say, but his reply was that I was the last man hired and so I had to be the first to go.

I went away from Sears feeling very downcast. Nevertheless, I had saved enough so that I could stay on for a month or two at least, and I was determined to get a job on which I could go to school. The next day I was out bright and early contacting every place I could think of for a job. The answer was always the same and about fifty other applicants ahead of me. I was feeling rather low that night when I returned to the boarding house. When I went to my room I found a note telling me to contact Sears' personnel man. I thought that I had probably not completed.all of the forms that they needed when they let me go. The next morning I called the personnel man and he asked me to come right out and see him: that he wanted to talk to me.

LETTERS
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(L311116) John Griffin to Father / Washington D.C.

I went out to Sears and the personnel man told me that the General Manager had been impressed with what I had told him the day I was layed off and was especially impressed with my record there at Sears. He said that they were going to open their toy department soon and he wanted to know if I were interested in a job in the toy department during the Christmas rush. He said that they could put me to work the next day helping to get the department set up and then I could work until Christmas. The pay was $18 a week and 1/2 of one percent of gross sales (which I later learned figured out to about $22 a week). A job was a job so I. gladly accepted the offer and went to work the next day.

After we got the toy department set up and were about to have the grand opening, I was placed in charge of all mechanical toys. It did not mean any more money but did give me sort of a supervisory job. I got Don Candland (Don passed away a number of years ago, having had a heart condition at the time I knew him which finally proved fatal) a job selling electric trains and for the next several weeks we had a great time selling electric trains, movie picture machines, and all kinds. of mechanical toys. It was a hard grind, though. We worked from 9 in the morning until 9:30 at night without any break except for lunch and for no more money except the little extra commission that you would earn for working longer.

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