As I approach my 85th birthday (I was born January 1, 1926) I thought I'd take the time to write about my history with Western Union, hoping that it will be of interest to someone.

 

After graduating from high school in 1943 I left our farm and worked at the Greyhound bus stop in Abilene, Texas for 5 or 6 months, which was long enough for me to know that I didn't want to be a waitress.  I saw an ad in the paper for  a school for Western Union over in Sweetwater....a small town west of Abilene.  I applied and thankfully was accepted. 

 

After I finished the school I was sent to Dallas, along with a good friend Thelma.  The pay was 50 cents an hour, taking home about $20 a week.  At some point my older sister, Oleta joined Thelma and I and the three of us begin to travel.  WU sending us wherever help was needed. 

 

We would spend 3 months in these various cities, and we were thrilled that the first city we were being sent to was San Francisco.  The traveling aspect of the job was exciting and a big step for three young farm raised girls.  It was in June 1944  and hot in Texas, so we welcomed the change. At least we thought we would. When we arrived in SF it was foggy and cold, and the three of us were miserable.  After two weeks the SF Manager called us on phone and asked how we would like being transferred down to Los Angeles.  Our first question was "is it warmer down there?"  They said "yes" so off we went to L.A.

 

From LA, next  was Kansas City.  We took trains to all of these places and it being in wartime the cars were filled with men in uniforms and it  was "standing room only.  When the three of us entered a car all of the men always rose and offered us their seats.  We were very impressed with their manners.

 

Eventually we made it to New York City.  And we had so much fun there that we signed up for three more months.  It was in 1945.  Shortly after arriving in the Big City we went for lunch and as we looked around the tables to see what the New Yorkers were eating....we were astounded to see some of them with grub worms on their plates!  We had to ask one of them how they could possibly find them edible and was quickly told they were small shrimps!  Something we had never seen in Texas.

 

On one of a days off we were out walking and turned a corner and ran right into a couple of sailors, coming in our direction.  One of them was our cousin!  In a city as large as NYK we found it amazing to run into someone we knew, much less a relative!  The high point of our tenure in NYK was being in Times Square the day that it was announced that WWII had ended in Europe.  I got separated from Oleta and Thelma so I went into the subway to go back to our apartment.  I had no money on me but fortunately the man taking tickets took pity on me and let me pass the turnstile.

 

From NYK we were back in Sweetwater, Texas around Christmas.  From there we were sent to Denver for 3 months.  During our times off we took side trips  to Wyoming and Utah.  Back to Sweetwater and then out to San Diego for three months.

 

Finally I ended up in Los Angeles and was an instructor, training people to work in the branch offices.  After closing the training classes I started working the branches myself, working as a relief operator.  I spent 2 days a week working in the same office as my future husband, who had taken the training classes when I was an instructor, but he had not been in my class.  With us both being from Texas our friendship grew quickly. 

 

After 2 or 3 years in the branches I got a bid to transfer to the Sales Department.

At one point I worked with Walter Girardian, who was also in Sales.  The excitement of traveling soon faded and was replaced with thrilling assignments that WU was always involved in....providing communication for the media.  I recall working a Democratic Convention one year. Very exciting.  I also worked two World Series.

 

In 1966 my husband left WU for another company, which transferred him to Dallas in 1968.  Fortunately I was able to obtain employment in the Dallas office and worked there until 1978 when we moved to Connecticut, after my husband was promoted.  I retired that year.

 

While working in the branch offices in LA, which included Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles I had many contacts with movie celebrities, both at the counter and over the phone.  One night at the Beverly Hills office Jimmy Durante came in and wired some money to a friend.  About an hour later he was back wiring money to another friend.  Another hour or so passes and he's in there for the third time.  As he left the office that time, he turned around and in his distinct gravelly voice said:  "Don't close up....I'll probably be back!!"

 

..end...