FIRST TIME IN WORKPLACE MEMORABLE

J. Ronald Fischer's first job was that of selling popcorn and sodas at the old Esquire Theater in the 800 block of Broadway.

Jack Koutek, General Sign CEO, first worked in the ladies lingerie department at a Montgomery Ward catalog operation in St. Paul, Minn.

Karen Hendrickson's first job was at Priest's Clothing Store in Jackson. She worked as a sales clerk and gift wrapper.

Harry Rediger got a taste of retailing early in life. His father had a hardware store in Seward, Neb. His first job was at the store.

Life is full of firsts first breath, first step, first date.

Few firsts are as memorable, however, as that first job, whether it's as retail clerk in a clothing store, a cook in a restaurant, or picking up wild nuts for money to purchase a first bicycle.

The latter was the course of this former country boy who found jobs scarce in Southern Illinois, especially for a 13-year-old.

However, a few hundred pounds of pecans, walnuts and hickory nuts later, an almost new (slightly used) bicycle was purchased from the old Rhodes & Burford Used Furniture Store at Mounds, Ill., with income from the nuts.

For youngsters living in cities, the search for first jobs today can be more lucrative. Fast-food facilities have helped narrow the search, as young people flock in to apply as busboys, waitresses, cooks and cashiers.

The Missouri Division of Employment Security also provides assistance in locating summer jobs for high school students.

"For the past two years we have taken applications to high schools," said Jackie Cecil of the local Job Service office. "This has been a good program and we'll probably continue it."

The number of young people with jobs increased by 3.1 million this spring as large numbers of students entered the labor market searching for summer jobs, many for the first time.

Young people between the ages of 16 and 24 total about 20 million workers nationally, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Overall, more youths were employed this July than a year ago.

The department also reports that the number of unemployed youths also rose this summer, to about 430,000, placing the jobless rate for youths at 13.2 percent.

This summer's increase included 1.9 million young men and 1.6 million young women.

The largest year-to-year employment increases for youths were in retail trade (up 470,000) and in construction (up 51,000). Local governments employed 28,000 more young people this year than in 1992.

Chelsea Bowerman is one of the teens lucky enough to land a part-time job. Bowerman takes orders, prepares vegetables for salads and prepares sandwiches at Subway Sandwiches & Salads, 250 Silver Springs Road.

A senior at Cape Central High School, she said she "really likes meeting people and feels good to have accomplished a goal, that of finding her first job."

Although the job is Bowerman's first with regular hours and salary, she has worked in other positions for just a few hours here and there, including a baby-sitting stint during part of the summer.

"I've been at Subway about two months," she said. "I looked around a few places before being hired here." To allow school and extra-curricular activities to remain a priority, Bowerman works a manageable 12 to 15 hours a week.

Although additional spending money was the motivation for Bowerman to enter the real world of work, she says she also wants to save some of her earnings for college expenses.

Any advice for friends looking for a job?

"Go from place to place and fill out a lot of applications," she said.

At today's minimum wage of $4.35 an hour, Cape Girardeau City Manager J. Ronald Fischer would have had to work 12 hours for that kind of money in his first job.

Fischer and three other community leaders, recalling their first jobs, agree that although the pay might have been less when they started work, the impact of their first work experience is still with them.

Fischer's first job was that of selling popcorn and sodas at the old Esquire Theater in the 800 block of Broadway.

"I was raised in the family business Fischer's Markets," said Fischer. "I helped out there as a youngster, but my first real job after getting my Social Security card was working at the Esquire."

In addition to duty in the theater's concession stand, Fischer also served as an usher.

"I was pretty young," recalled Fischer. "My salary was 35 cents an hour and all the popcorn I could eat."

Before joining the family operation, Fischer worked for a while at the old Blue Hole barbecue restaurant and served in military service, joining his father in 1957.

Fischer continued to operate the neighborhood market until it closed in 1987, 51 years after it had been founded by his father.

Fischer, who served almost a quarter century in local government as Cape Girardeau County commissioner, on the Cape Girardeau City Council and as mayor, was named city manager in February 1988.

Jack Koutek, General Sign CEO, recalled his first job at a Montgomery Ward catalog operation in St. Paul, Minn.

"I worked in the ladies lingerie department," said Koutek.

He worked at the catalog store about two years while he was attending vocational-technical school studying to be an sign artist.

"I started at $1.25 an hour," said Koutek. "That wasn't bad for a youngster in the 1960s. I worked up to $2 an hour before leaving."

When Koutek left Montgomery Ward for a sign-art internship he had to take a 50-cent-an-hour pay cut.

"But art was what I wanted," said Koutek. "I painted copy on chimneys, trucks and buildings."

Koutek moved to the Cape Girardeau area in 1988, and worked at General Sign two years before leaving for a position in Central America.

He returned here in 1992.

Karen Hendrickson knew in high school that she wanted to be a nurse. But her first job was retail sales.

"I was still in high school," said Hendrickson, now assistant administrator and director of nursing at Southeast Missouri Hospital. "An opening for sales clerk and gift-wrapping came up at Priest's Clothing Store in Jackson. I needed spending money and experience working with people, so I applied."

Following graduation from high school, Hendrickson entered Barnes Hospital School of Nursing.

"My first full-time job was at Barnes when I finished nursing school," said Hendrickson. "I was a novice nurse on the evening shift, 3 to 11 p.m., and was making $125 a month."

Hendrickson returned to Cape Girardeau in 1986, where she was recruited to establish the first intensive-care unit at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

"I've been in the community ever since," she said.

Harry Rediger, manager of JCPenney, West Park Mall, got a taste of retailing early in life.

"My father had a hardware store in Seward, Neb.," said Rediger. "My first job was at the hardware store."

Rediger said he had plans to return to Seward when he graduated from college, but changed his mind during his senior year, opting instead for a retail position with Sears, Roebuck & Co.

"I interviewed at Sears in Lincoln, Neb., for a job as a management trainee," he said. "I didn't get a definite answer at that time."

Rediger recalled he had parked a couple of blocks away from the Lincoln store and on his way back to his car had to pass by a JCPenney store.

"I decided I would try there," he said. "I visited with the store manager, and the next morning he called. I started selling men's accessories. My salary was $2,500 a year plus a bonus commission for surpassing certain sales goals."

The rest is history.

Rediger has been with JCPenney's Cape Girardeau store for 17 years and hopes to remain there until retirement.