[HN Gopher] The Brickyard Summer of 1957 (2008)
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The Brickyard Summer of 1957 (2008)
Author : flycaliguy
Score : 39 points
Date : 2021-11-27 16:02 UTC (6 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (brickcollecting.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (brickcollecting.com)
| vegetablepotpie wrote:
| That is an honest to goodness "walk into the office and give the
| manager a firm handshake" story.
|
| I guess the perception is that in the '50s there was work
| available for those who wanted it and big rewards (a car), for
| those who carried through. I don't know how common these
| experiences actually were, or if there is selection bias, but my
| parents generation impressed on me that this was a common lived
| experience.
|
| I can't imagine now, or anytime in the last 15 years, a teenager
| being able to walk into an office and be expected to show up and
| work the next day in a hard industrial job. Now what they will
| hear is either "we don't hire anyone under 18" or "apply online"
| and sit idle in a holding pattern till they're needed. Modern
| suburban homes (common for the middle class) are far away from
| the productive centers of the city and car ownership is a
| requirement for servicing basic needs, such a getting groceries.
| Access to _reliable_ transportation is a requirement for
| attaining jobs, so it's a bit of a catch-22 if you're young and
| looking for work in 21st century America.
|
| I may be going on a limb here, but the days this story is from
| are long gone and cannot be used as a template for today's youth.
| The best bet for being middle class, if you're young, is to
| educate your self as fast as possible, and as cheaply as
| possible. Spend time in high school taking AP classes to take the
| AP tests to circumvent many gen-ed requirements, do
| extracurricular activities to look good to colleges and on
| scholarship applications. Graduate in three years to keep from
| accumulating too much debt. Do summer internships to have a job
| to go to after you graduate, and don't waste time with the summer
| job that will pay you minimum wage.
| jbay808 wrote:
| Your comment reminds me of Scott Alexander's review of _On the
| Road_ :
|
| > Even more interesting than their ease of transportation to me
| was their ease at getting jobs. This is so obvious to them it
| is left unspoken. Whenever their money runs out, be they in
| Truckee or Texas or Toledo, they just hop over to the nearest
| farm or factory or whatever, say "Job, please!" and are earning
| back their depleted savings in no time. This is really the crux
| of their way of life. They don't feel bound to any one place,
| because traveling isn't really a risk. Be it for a week or six
| months, there's always going to be work waiting for them when
| they need it. It doesn't matter that Dean has no college
| degree, or a criminal history a mile long, or is only going to
| be in town a couple of weeks. This just seems to be a
| background assumption.
|
| https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/12/02/book-review-on-the-roa...
| aliswe wrote:
| My older brother tells a story that as a 10-ish old boy he, for
| whatever reason, followed along with our father as he was
| applying for a job (carpentry) much like this gentleman did.
|
| He told me the following dialogue happened:
|
| "How much you asking for?"
|
| "maybe a hundred" (Swedish Krona)
|
| "Well you got yourself a deal boy, cause I pay monthly!"
| (implying he would get 100SEK per month)
|
| he didnt get the job...
| hellbannedguy wrote:
| There are backbreaking jobs today, but are filled by immigrants
| who treat the lousy job as a career.
|
| In the 70's a guy could get a backbreaking job, and still have
| opportunities of getting something better. A union construction
| job was usually a test away from a hire.
|
| You could afford an apartment, by yourself, or 1 roommate, with
| the wage paid. (An apartment by yourself, and not cramming
| multiple families under one roof.)
|
| In the 80's a guy getting out of prison actually had a few jobs
| that were waiting. Buying a truck, and starting an unlicensed
| landscaping business was always there. House painting was
| always there. Tree Trimming business was always there.
|
| Today there's just too much competition, and bonds, licenses,
| and customers who know the rules. And customers who know they
| can hire on the very cheap if they have too.
|
| And you could live in a one room apartment, and pay your bills.
| Hell, you could even go out on the weekends and feel potent.
| You could look at the pansy wealthy boys and smirk.
|
| As for teens, and twenty somethings, who didn't want to break
| their backs; there were always cashier jobs, sales, stocking,
| security, etc.
|
| Now--those jobs are treated as careers by desperate immigrants.
|
| Immigrants who have different cultures than American. I said
| nothing about race. I'm talking culture. There's many of you
| looking to pounce--I know.
|
| The story was written well. I was looking for a rich guy's name
| as the Writer. Wealthy boys like to write about the time dad
| made them get a lousy job. Oh, they never mention dad. It was
| always their decision to get that hard job. Later in life they
| can claim they know what it's like to work hard. And at best it
| was only a few months of getting their hands dirty. In their
| Horacio Algier's fictional mind they actually belive they are
| the hard working Americans, but they use money as their tool.
| They always leave out all the perks of growing up wealthy, and
| sympathetic dad that helps out at the right times right up into
| their 40's.
|
| The difference is the poor work hard everyday. They wake up
| with their muscles hurting. It's cool until you hit 45, or
| maybe 50. After that homelessness becomes a viable option.
|
| America should be ashamed of itself.
|
| You got more profit by making product overseas. You somehow
| convinced workers unions don't work.
|
| You allowed in too many poor cultures to fill those lousy jobs
| American teens/twenties used to count on.
|
| I don't feel like a debate. I've been wanting to say this for
| awhile.
| [deleted]
| gwern wrote:
| https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/brickyard-blues/
| theobeers wrote:
| What a cool story. As the author clarifies at the end, he means
| Berlin, CT. (It's pronounced with the emphasis on the first
| syllable.) My mother was raised there--I grew up not far away--
| and I still have family in the area.
|
| I don't know much about the brickworks, but I have seen the steam
| shovel mast that the author mentions sticking out of a pond.
| There's a potato-quality photo of it on the website of the Berlin
| Historical Society:
|
| http://berlincthistorical.org/exhibits-collections/industry/
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(page generated 2021-11-27 23:01 UTC)