My Partner:

It was a long time ago. I was about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. I decided work for myself sanding and refinishing floors. Rose and I took out a loan at Local Loan Co. for $500.00 and I bought a used large Super 8 floor sander, and edger , some sandpaper, five gallons of floor sealer and five gallons of floor varnish, and we placed and add in the local newspaper, "The Northwest News", hoping to find customers. About two weeks later we finally had our first job. An elderly lady wanted her living room sanded and refinished. We were so excited, we talked about it all evening and the next day our small business began.

A month or two passed and we had a few jobs, enough to pay the bills. One day I was entering facts and figures in a notebook that I was using to keep tract of jobs, expenses, bills and income and Rose asked if she could do that book work. I told her no that I thought It was my job to do this work. And she persisted, saying, "I was a good secretary before we got married. I took care of books for a lawyers office and I'd like to do the same for us." I told her I wanted to do it myself and she said," We started this venture together. I am your wife, your partner. I want to be a part of our business. I want to be your partner. I can do the paper work while you are working. I can take phone calls from customers. Then when you are finished working we can spend evenings together without working." I thought about it for a few seconds, and said," I think that is a good Idea. We started this together and you handle the books and phone and I'll take care of the work."

It worked well all those years. Rose liked talking to customers and taking care of the books. During our floor sanding days Rosemary came to visit me many times at the customer site. Sometimes we had lunch together and other times she brought coffee and donuts and we would spend a short time talking. She liked visiting me. I would show her all the various houses and buildings where I worked. She liked knowing how I sanded and how I finished the floors because she could relate that information to customers when talking with them on the phone.

But most important to us was the fact that we were doing all this together. She liked the idea that she could visit on site and we could see each other. And she was my wife, she was part of my work. Part of the business. A true partner of mine in our married life and in our business life, through good times and bad times. . Rosemary's idea to do the secretary's work and be involved in my work was the best idea of married live together.