Memories of McDonald’s

The Most Basic of Hamburgers

My very first job was at the McDonald’s on Osborne St. in Pacoima, CA. It was 1963 and I’m pretty sure the minimum wage at the time was $1.05. My first two days were spent making shakes; the next day I made fries.

Then they discovered I had experience with a cash register and could make change!! I moved to the window and the rest is history.

A few distinct memories, in no particular order:

• There were people who ate both lunch and dinner – every day – at McDonald’s (I don’t believe we served breakfast at the time).
• We had a basement and a machine, similar to the one lapidarists use to polish stones, that we used to peel potatoes. The fries were made fresh back then.
• The Manager spent the vast majority of his energy tweaking the syrup/water mix for the soft drinks so “he” could save more money.
• I used to have nightmares where I faced an endless line of people who ate nothing but that crap (and I knew it was crap back then, but I was already inured to its ubiquity) for every meal.
• There were invariably bugs in the boxes of hamburger buns.

Hope you enjoy your next McMeal. 😉