…From Christmas Trees to a Sawmill…

What jobs have you had?

πŸ€”… Looking back on my work history, I’ve had quite a journey through various industries that taught me different skills and work ethics. As a teenager, I got my start with outdoor work – pruning Christmas trees, selling produce at farmers markets, and doing seasonal jobs like mowing lawns and shoveling snow. One of my most interesting early experiences was working for an antique dealer, which took me all around Michigan in the early 90s. We’d travel from city to city during festival seasons, setting up booths downtown and at flea markets, which gave me a real appreciation for small-town communities and the stories behind old treasures.
Β Β  My adult career has been equally diverse, taking me through manufacturing, food service, and skilled trades. I’ve worked the production lines at a sewing factory and poultry processing plant, served customers at McDonald’s, Jack’s, and Burger King, and spent time as an inventory auditor learning the ins and outs of business operations. For nearly a decade, I built concrete swimming pools, which was physically demanding but rewarding work. Later, I moved into manufacturing again at a sleeping bag plant, where I worked my way up from pack-out to bag roller, then floater, and eventually to mechanic. In 2015, I landed my current role as a mechanic at a sawmill and wood components company, bringing together all the mechanical skills and problem-solving abilities I’d developed over the years.

12 responses to “…From Christmas Trees to a Sawmill…”

  1. And all the experiences you have had with your jobs has given you a wide opportunity to put your work colleagues into your writing…

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    1. I cannot put my work colleagues into my stories. I’m a very misunderstood person, if I place them into my stories … Somebody will be offended and then I’ll have to edit them out of the story. The only person I have in my story that is similar to a real person is my character Karlee in the Gas Station, Karlee is my girlfriend.

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      1. That’s very sensible! It’s like the celebs who write books & some of the characters are just too familiar 🀣

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      2. Right! I’ve been a people watcher most all my life. When I retire I’m sure I’ll be the old guy in a restaurant drinking coffee or the man sitting on the bench at Walmart. I love to observe and note hahaha. I’d say half of my stories are real stories from things I’ve been through or witnessed and the other half are purely fictional. Some of my Gas Station stories have customers that I’ve written in my “unshared” genres of writing.

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      3. I love people watching! My favourite thing to do.

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  2. You have done it all, Emmitt! I would have loved to work with antiques, setting up at festivals and flea markets. Aside from a paper route when I was 13, my first “real” job was at Burger King. Still have nightmares, lol.

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    1. A paper route is how my parents met in the mid 70’s πŸ™‚πŸ™‚πŸ™‚ … Truth be Told, I didn’t like working at Burger King either. I’m a McDonalds person, it was a fun job and I made many friends.

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      1. I went on to work in a few food service jobs after BK. In college I worked at a pizza place (which I loved) and more recently I baked bread and fried doughnuts at a Mennonite bakery (which I also loved, except we got started at 4 am!) πŸ™‚

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      2. BK was my last food service job, I was in my very early 20s. 😳 Baking bread is no easy task, but enjoyable if you have the time. Watch me plan a “bread baking” day with my GF in the next month now πŸ˜„

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  3. Sounds like you’re a very industrious person with a strong work ethic. Good for you!

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  4. My son is addicted to sawmill videos on YouTube. He can watch them for hours. He loves and finds them fascinating, and talks a lot about the different types of wood and cuts. He asked if we could get a sawmill for our backyard.

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    1. That would be an interesting & fun project, a back yard mill. It’s possible, some smaller mill machines are affordable. The biggest question is what to do with the finished product? Build forts, treehouses or sell the lumber. πŸͺš πŸͺ΅

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