My Jobs Growing Up & Then Some.

I started young selling flower and vegetable seeds door to door in Camarillo. I then got a paper route delivering for the Ventura Star Free Press, Oxnard Press Courier, Los Angeles Times and worked for Max Grant, Melinda's dad from our class. I ran vacation relief for Dave Dodson's Camarillo Daily News paper route. This was cool as I got to use his Honda 55 Trail bike to deliver the newspapers.

I remember working a couple of summers picking Lemons and Oranges with Dave Dodson and Keith Busby. We rode the green Bracero bus with the ladders on top. This was hard work as we started before the sun came up.

I started working at Von's on August 3rd 1967 as a box boy. After a few months I stated clerking, stocking shelf's before school and then after school. Who would have known that I would be there for 28 years. I worked my way up to a Store Manager and managed stores from Santa Barbara to the San Fernando Valley. Many of our classmates worked with me for many years at Von's

I took an early retirement from Von's and Managed stores for Mervyn's Department Stores for two years. I moved over to Farmer's Insurance for 2 years as an Assistant District Manager where I recruited new agents, trained them, worked on their marketing program until then opened their new office.

I then went to work for Caterpillar as a Manager of their Engine Division for 10 years. I was responsible for their large truck shop, the marine division which consisted of yachts and other vessels. The largest part was the E.P.G. This is the Electric Power Generation which was our back up Cat generators. We did new installs, upgrades, maintenance and much much more. Our customers were Amgen, Jails, Telephone Companies, 911 Call Centers, Police Departments, Major Corporations, from Brittany Spears in Malibu to Oprah Winfrey in Montecito as many of these celebrities never wanted to be without power. From Caterpillar I went over to Terminix as a Branch Service Manager for the next year until they closed branches which meant layoff time.

Easter Week 1969

It was Friday Night at midnight, 1969 the beginning or our Easter break when Dave Dodson and I left on a hitchhiking trip to Winston Salem N.C. We were heading back to see his girlfriend who had moved there from Camarillo. We each had $30 each, one sleeping bag, a blanket and a backpack with food. We tried to get a ride at Carmen drive to no avail. We had Mark Payne drop us off at Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks where we finally got a ride at midnight.

By the time we hit San Bernardino we had eaten all our food...lol. We got a ride from Barstow CA. to Oklahoma City which was great for us. We had several small rides in between until we got off track and ended up in Ball Knob Arkansas which was a SMALL hick town. The guy at the gas station told us a train came through which he believed went into Tennessee. Around 2am the train came through. It was moving pretty good through the turn but we finally managed to get on. Dave was on the car behind me. I ran across the top of the train to see Dave sitting on a small rail. He was clinging on for life. He wouldn't come back to the nice platform that I had. We went through lots of swamp land which was pretty scary as there were houses on stilts with boats tied up to the houses and telephone poles half way under water.

Oh, I forgot to say we told our parents we were going to Big Bear. When we got to Oklahoma City we sent them post cards to let them know we were OK. We made Winston Salem on Monday night just before Midnight. We stayed at Julie's parents house for 3 days. Julie invited her girlfriend along with us as we all went out for pizza and beer. Dave and I thought we were so cool having beer.

We headed home and hit some huge rainstorms which soaked us. We got a ride with a very nice Grandfather and Grandmother through the Smokey Mountains. They took us to a 5 star restaurant and wouldn't take a dime from us. His last name was Boone and was was related to Daniel Boone. He insisted that we let him know when we reached home safely. It took us 3 days to hitchhike home. What an adventure we had during our 9 day trip!

This site is for our class and our memories

This Blog is intended for all of us to share our memories of growing up in Camarillo. The many friends we made along the way from grade school up to high school and everything in between. Let us know how and when you came to Camarillo. Who your friends were and some of the adventures you had along the way. Where you lived and some of your favorite places to go and hang out. What you enjoyed doing during the summer months.

Let our class of 69 know about our blog where we can all meet and learn about our former classmates. Who your best friend was and maybe who you dated or hung out with. Share some of the funny times you had as I had many which I will share at a future date.

What have you done over the last 40 years? What was your first job back in High School, jobs along the way and when are you retiring. How many children do you have and some of you may have Gradchildren. What are your hobbies and interests. Have a great time with our Blog!