No sooner did I quit the Italian Villa, then I managed to get an interview at Rohm and Haas in Bridesburg, and was hired for a summer job to start on June 24, 1974.
Not only that, but I was hired over the minimum wage. During the course of the summer, I would get two raises, and I was tempted, due to the depression caused by my father's declining health, to quit school and work there full time. I didn't.
I spent the summer filling in for workers on summer vacation.
Similar to my 1973 summer job, this one had its hazards---namely...
I blew up a fire hose in my face (when you turn on the hydrant to a 3 inch hose, be sure there are no kinks)
I suffered heat stroke (not my fault, about 130 degrees in those trucks)
I bled from the nose while unloading a railroad car of some kind of 'powder' (again, not my fault, I wore a mask)
Rohm and Haas had a very nice medical staff---I remember being in there for my bleeding nose when a girl named Rosemary was being treated for spilling coffee on herself.
The cafeteria was very nice---I only ate there a few times. Most times, we were so dirty from the hot work that we ate in the locker room.
After my bleeding incident, I was no longer able to unload trucks and boxcars, and was assigned to the clean up detail.
I spent some time cleaning the locker rooms. bathrooms, etc.
My boss was a tyrant---he insisted that we clean and re-clean the bathrooms all day long. We weren't permitted to close them, and if we were working a night shift, he would execute a surprise visit to see if we were goofing off.
My last day on the job was spent weeding.
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