After about 6-8 months of working for the State of Michigan I knew it was not for me so I talked to my brother, Tom, who was working for Zabo Food Service (I believe). He was able to get me a position with there industrial services in Indiana.

I started with a plant in Indianapolis working in the kitchen (where else?) helping the chefs. I learned a lot about the food business there such a how to prepare the food, store it, cleaning it, to cooking. I learned how to handle the tools of the trade, chef's knives, which is not easy at first as you can easily cut knuckles when chopping vegetables.

It wasn't long until they had a position open for me as a manager of a new operation, a hospital in Marion that they won the contract for operating the food service there. I believe the hospital had about 100 patients or so. This was in 1957 or 1958 I believe.

Since the hospital operated seven days a week every week of the year and on holidays, I had to be around most of the time. But, being single and not much else to do, I generally went to work about 6 AM and came home (an apartment) about 6 PM or so six days a week and sometimes on Sunday.

The job was not bad and shortly after I arrived, the hospital put in a new kitchen facility that greatly improve the working conditions. And, in addition, we started the "Meals On Wheels", a hot & cold food cart for delivering meals to the patients, which is shown on the left.

One major event happened to me there, I had to take over the head cook's duties as she quit and it took some time to hire a new cook. So, not only was I doing my manager's job but the head cook's job too! And I had to learn quickly how to prepare all the different types of meals that are required in a hospital, regular, soft, bland, liquid, etc.

It was while I worked for Szabo Food Service that I learned how to make and bake Danish pastry. Just about every operation made fresh Danish every day and I remember that the Marion Hospital employees looked forward to the 12 dozen of so that I made six days a week.

Somewhere along the way I went to work for Tom's company, Gladioux Food Service, as Tom was the head buyer with them. It may have been when I started to work at the retirement home in Detroit as I know I replaced the current manager as the nuns didn't like him. But I am not sure anymore. But, remember, this was in the late 1950s, about 40 some years ago and thing are not that clear as the food service business is one that I really didn't enjoy working in so why remember it.

I managed the food service of a huge Catholic retirement home in Detroit, Michigan. The home was an old hotel, probably seven stores high and several sub-basement and house about 400 people. Everyone ate in the large dining room, which could seat 400 at a time. We had several chefs on duty every day besides bakers, salad makers, etc.

Food storage was no problem due to the extensive walk-in refrigerators and freezers. One freeze had over 200 pounds of Government surplus cheese and floor when I arrived. The main kitchen was huge with several steam-heated cooking pots that held about 40 gallons and were used to make soup and keep a stock pot. The stock pot is filled with water and trimming from meat, vegetables leftovers, etc. were put it and kept hot all the time. You could then drain whatever liquid was need for making soups or gravy anytime you wish.

My next job with Gladioux was in Clyde, Ohio where I managed the food service operations at the Whirlpool plant which made washing machines and driers. It was while I was here that I married Barbara (see Marriages), and, as a direct result, stopped smoking and gained about 40 pounds, some of which I took off and finally ended up at about my current weight of 175 or so.

I got in trouble with Gladioux as shortly after I was married. While working at the Clyde Whirlpool plant, my wife, Barbara, wanted to trade in my Dodge 4 door for a used 1956 4 door loaded Cadillac. Her father drove Caddys so she thought this would be a good car for us. It was one "sweet car" but drank gas, about 8 MPG, and weight about 6,000 pounds (I know as I took it to the plant scales and weight it). Having this was horrible from the companies point of view in that a lowly cafeteria manager would be driving to work in a Cadillac! They wanted me to not do that or sell the car, which I refused to do. Perhaps that is why I really never went to far in Gladioux. Anyway, we soon got rid of it as it was always in the shop for repairs and they were expensive. So we traded the Caddy in for a new VW Bug and got cash back in the deal.

I was transferred from Clyde to Columbus, Ohio where I took over managing a industrial complex, the Defense Departments Supply And Construction Depot (DDSCD), which had two separate cafeteria. Managing the operation was easy as I had an extremely compliant so all I had to do was take care of the other, large cafeteria. This was a tough time as my wife, Barbara, had a teaching job in Clyde and could not or didn't want to leave so I spent about six months commuting from Clyde to Toledo on the weekends and working in Clyde during the week where I had a room in a private house. But we moved to Columbus in the summer, what year I am not sure.

We rented a house on the east side of town only a few blocks from DDSCD. It was during our time in Columbus that Barbara went back to school and got her doctorate in Elementary Education. And it was long after that we purchased a home in Upper Arlington.

Due to the staff and the customers, I was able to institute a rotating four week menu for the cafeteria and since about the same number of people ordered the same food on each day in the rotating menu, a standard order each week was easy to set up and use.

With the cafeteria running almost on automatic, I became bored and decided to do something else. This lead to my going back to college, actually Ohio State University, and taking night classes in mathematics, which is the next story.