Dad and me.
Hauling Coal from Colfax to Grass Valley Hardware
The Union newspaper story about Glen Jones, the former owner of Grass Valley Hardware, stirred some memories. When I was in high school my dad and I used to haul coal from the train depot in Colfax to Grass Valley Hardware's warehouse. We had to load from a boxcar to our truck using a wheelbarrow. It was hard work, and you would be blowing black dust out of your nose all week. It was much easier to load from an open dump truck. We'd do this two or three times a year starting in late summer and fall. Dad shoveled right handed and I shoveled left handed. He would pull into the bin where we had to shovel right handed that caused an enlarged muscle in my back. Ouch!
Dad drove the coal truck and I helped with the shoveling. But I got a job driving a grocery delivery truck for Penrose Grocery Store that was located next door to the Union office on Broad Street, Nevada City. I delivered after school and on weekends when I was fifteen. Because of the shortage of drivers during the war, I was able to get a special drivers license. I'd back in to the front door to load groceries in the back of the truck. The job paid $20 per week. I also worked for the Forest Service before going into the (Coast Guard) when I was seventeen. Bill Tobiassen took over driving for Penrose Grocery after I left.
