My first job as a teenager was babysitting for four children of our neighbor in town. Ray and Eunice Rice had a dance band who had a long gig on many weekends. This meant giving the children supper, playing with them, then to the bath and getting them ready for bed. Ray and Eunice were out quite late so I often slept at their house.
My second job was at the John Deere store in town. They had contacted the school for a girl about sixteen who knew something about bookkeeping and I was hired. The job consisted of some keeping on a sales ledger and dusting when that work was done. I worked on a full-keyboard adding machine and wrote in a large ledger. I enjoyed this job.
After a year of college I moved to a town about 150 miles from Freeman where my sister and her husband lived. My sister was expecting a baby so I helped her with housework. I also had a part-time job at a clothing store as a sales clerk. After their baby was born I helped take care of him.
Early the next year I moved to Denver, Colorado, and applied for a job at a large hospital. I had two brothers there and lived with one of them. Through church I learned to know a couple girls who were looking for a roommate. I moved in with them which was near the hospital where I got the job. It was a job operating a large electric posting machine where I posted patient charges on a daily basis. This job was a good fit for me. My supervisor was a tall, black lady and I learned to really appreciate her.
After working there about a year, I had a call from a brother in Newton, Kansas, and he encouraged me to apply for a job in the building where he worked. I had a telephone interview with Walt Unrau who was in charge of a branch of the Board of Education and Publication of the General Conference of the Mennonite Church. I got that job so after giving the hospital notice I moved to Kansas. I was hired as a production typist, which suited me well.
During that time I joined a community choir and met Orlando Goertzen, whom I later married. After about a year at this job and my wedding I became pregnant; near the time of this first baby’s birth, I quit my job. I made many contacts at this job and I did typing at home on a part-time basis.
After eleven years working at a print shop, Orlando had the opportunity to buy another printing establishment in Newton. My job at that place was proofreader and doing some bookkeeping. When the office supply store in front of the print shop became for sale, we bought that also. We hired two clerks and I managed the store and worked part time when the children were in school.
We owned these businesses for 28 years and then were semi-retired. I took on another job as I was too young to retire and Orlando worked at Mennonite Central Committee.
My next job was in Hesston, Kansas, for Mennonite Aid Union insurance company. It was a small office and employed only me and the manager. We had about 20 sales people, or district secretaries as they were called, and about 3,500 policies. I worked there for about eight years and did enjoy this work.
Since I retired from this job I took on volunteer jobs, working at the Et Cetera Shop thrift shop, and several jobs at my church. Now I work one morning a week at Mennonite Central Committee and am treasurer of our Women’s Fellowship at church.
