Hanging Out in the Summer of 1956

My Summer as a Waitress. 

After I finished my freshman year in college at Gardner-Webb, I was looking for a summer job, and there were no jobs in Shelby.  By that time I wanted to do something other than pick cotton.  My uncle's wife in Statesville said they were looking for a waitress at Gray's Restaurant in Statesville where she worked and that I could live with them or with my Grandmother.  I guess Daddy must have taken me to Statesville and I applied and became a waitress at Gray's Restaurant.  At the time this was one of the best restaurants in Statesville.

Waitresses were required to wear a white uniform so I went out and bought ONE uniform.  To save money I was planning on wearing it each day and washing it each night and have it ready to wear the next day.  That's what I did.  As soon as I got home, at my Grandmother's house where I was staying, I would change clothes and wash the uniform.  By morning it was dry because it was hot in Grandma's house with no air conditioning.

I usually worked the morning shift which began at 6:00am if I remember correctly.  Of course, I had no car and would walk the mile from Connor Street down Front Street to South Center Street to the restaurant.  Two free meals came with the job, so I would leave at 5:00am and walk in the early dawn hours to have breakfast before I began my morning shift.  I got off work at 3:00pm and then I could eat another meal before I left.

In those days, waitresses didn't have a large tray to carry the dishes to the tables of the diners.  We had to learn to carry four plates at one time if we had a large order.  I can't believe I learned to do that. But I did and I didn't once drop a plate.

This is how I felt. Though as I recall I never had to carry a plate on my head. 

The early morning shift was usually easy, and Jay Huskins, who was then editor of the Statesville Record and Landmark came in every weekday morning to get just a cup of coffee.  I was serving him, we chatted, and when he learned that I was working to make money for college, he began tipping me $1.00 every single day.  That was a big tip for a 20 cent cup of coffee. For most orders of just coffee, I didn't even get a tip. I missed him on weekends.

I had a lot of freckles on my face, and the owner whose name I can't recall. I thought I would never forget that, the way he teased me all the time.  He would say, "She's got freckles on her, BUT,  (he paused here) I love her just the same." and I would always blush.  I could feel my face get red hot.  I never got used to it.  He was a good boss though, and he and his family would come in on Sundays after church to eat, and sometimes I would be the one to serve them. 

Gray's Restaurant was the stop for the Greyhound Bus Schedule in Statesville, and a bus came in around noontime when we were already rather busy with customers.  People would get off the bus, come in to order in a hurry, I think they had only about 30 minutes before the bus would depart.  I dreaded that, it was so hectic, and the bus customers usually did not leave a tip.  Regarding tips, I just want to say that since I experienced life as a waitress, I ALWAYS tip generously whenever I eat out. Brooks now you know why I tip the way I do.

Each day when I got back to Grandma's I would empty out my pockets on her kitchen table and count my money.  She was always so happy when I made a lot of tips.  I offered to share my tips with her since I was boarding at her place, but she would not hear of it. Bless her heart.  It was great for me to spend time with my Grandma.

I don't think I made much money that summer, but it was a great experience.  An experience that would benefit any young person growing up.  Grace, maybe you would like to try it sometime before you finish college.  Waitresses in some of the Chapel Hill restaurants probably make pretty good money these days.

I saved almost all that I made that summer, but I did splurge on getting a photograph made at a professional photography studio.  The same studio that my mother had had a photo made when she was about 19, the age I was at the time. Mama had grown up in Statesville.   Not the same photographer I am certain.

Me at 19 in the summer of 1956.

Mama, your Great Grandmother at 19, 1920

When summer was over, I had matured a lot and returned home eager to begin my second year at Gardner-Webb College.


Love, love, love, GrandPat
April 24, 2020