Retirement Speech
To all my friends, all my coworkers and my bosses. Gee, I see most of you out here have been my boss at one time or another. But thanks for making this possible. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve a party but then again I've got arthritis and I guess I don't deserve that either.
But anyhow I remember when I first started out here at Melrose Park 35 years ago, started right after the war - that’s World War II, the big one. Somebody out here asked me one time if I ever killed anybody in the war. Well, I never kept track really. you see I was in the medical corps. But anyway when I moved out to Melrose Park I went over to Harvester for a job and started out in the recording department. In fact we first started we were paid in cash come around - Brinks or some security outfit would come around and give us our pay in an envelope. And we were started out here in doing ordinary IBM work and going along pretty good.
But Melrose Park at that time was growing too. Now Melrose Park, that’s a sort of a tough town too. In school for example, you open up the lockers and there is a gun rack. They had a gun rack in it. They taught you how to leave the scene of an accident. And for drivers ed and sex education they use the same car. But Melrose Park has some nice taverns. They had Club Teray, my friends place. That was known as a shot and a beer place. By the time you had your second beer somebody was shot.
Anyway times kept on going. Getting back to Melrose Park, so they started having a union. I remember right after they started that union, one fellow came to work one morning and came back the next day and the boss asked him where his union card was. He didn’t have a union card so they sent him home forgetting his union card. So the next day another fellow came to work so the boss asked him where is the union suit. He had to go home and get his union suit. By that time I think Hemy was my boss so I left him and came back 2 hours later. He says where have you been. I had to go to the washroom so I went down to union station.
But anyway that work was getting done. Work was improving. By that time in house I was recalled for active duty Korea this time. But you probably know we won that war also. But anyhow the times kept on going on and we got transferred and lots of changes and that's where I start meeting some of you wonderful people, beautiful people.
Then finally comes to a time in your life where everything is you can't use it so you figure it's about time to time to retire let me tell you something when you get home
Told me I was a dirty old man but anyway again I want to thank all of you for making this party possible we appreciate it. I expect time at the railroad museum. At 75 years when I retire from that are you invited to come to the party to thank you very much.