Salary: A dime a day and a place to stay 


FROM MY FRONT PORCH

Salary: A dime a day and a place to stay


SAM HOUSTON

Sam Houston is the publisher of the Hood County News. He is also an actor, author, playwright, performer and entertainment producer/promoter.

One of the men I sought out for knowledge and inspiration regarding any issue about life, love, or faith was Raymond O. Gibbs.

R.O., as he was called by his friends, grew up in a small town and graduated from business school in 1930, just after the start of the Great Depression. He had long dreamed of becoming a banker but much to his dismay, with the worldwide economic crash, banking jobs were nearly impossible to find. After weeks and then months of searching for a job and receiving numerous rejection letters, he was finally able to secure a single response and an interview at a small, rural Oklahoma bank.

R.O. was excited to finally have a opportunity for a job and when the day and time arrived, he appeared at the bank dressed in his best suit, with shoes shined, and hair combed neatly. When he was led into the bank president’s office, he shook hands and then sat down.

The man behind the big walnut desk spoke and said, “You have an outstanding record of achievement in school and are certainly qualified to fill the job opening. I called your references, and they were outstanding.”

While the bank had recently lost an assistant cashier to retirement and there was plenty of work to be done, with the Depression the bank simply had no money to be able to pay a full-time employee. The bank president incredulously extended to R.O. this “generous” offer; if he would come to work full time, including Saturday, he could live in the back room of the bank for free and would receive 10 cents a day for lunch. There would be no pay!

However at the end of a year if R.O. had been a good employee, the bank would either have a paying job available or would give him a letter of reference that should secure his employment elsewhere.

Does not seem like much of an offer, does it? Of course, when measured against all of R.O.’s other job options — which were absolutely zero— it seemed like a heck of an opportunity! He took the job and proceeded to start a long climb up the banking ladder.

R.O. worked six days a week at the bank and did odd jobs around town at night to earn enough money to sustain himself. Folks in the small community came to know him and respect him. More than a few times he was invited to dinner or to lunch, or asked to do an odd job so he could earn some cash.

At the end of the year, the bank President was true to his word and R.O. was a given a full-time job, with pay! He became the cashier, then vice president, president, and eventually rising to become owner of the very same bank.

He had a reputation in the community as a hard worker and someone who could be trusted to keep his word. He loaned money on “the man” every bit as much as on the financial statement, something that simply does not happen these days.

R.O. taught me that sometimes in life one must invest in himself and take a risk, in order to move ahead. The door to opportunity is not always a big shiny entrance with an inviting path to walk through. Sometimes, the road leads through the briars, sandburs and bull thistle! The path can be tough, and many will turn back or never even make the attempt. But for R.O., and the other brave souls who believe in themselves, success is oh, so sweet.

Thought for the day: Success is not for those who run fast, it is for those who never stop running and who leap over every hurdle on the track.

Until next time…