Larry Steele:  

Well now, I've been retired for almost a year now. Last day of paid work was Jan 4, 2008. Spent most of my working days in building materials retail. Worked about 27 years at one location in Corvallis Oregon. The job Starkey out as a small partnership in a venture to build and sell wholesale quantities of cedar and redwood picnic tables and prefaf deck modules. That business didn't ever amount to much, but led to a job with my partner's father's retail store. The lumber yard was a decent business that grew resonably well until my former partner took it over from his father and ran it into the ground enough so that it had to be sold to another small retail chain out of Salem. The Salem outfit grew and took on more financing and took over some of the former Copeland Lumber Co. yards. Then that operation kind of went in the toilet somewhat as well. I never had any actual equity in either operation, but it was still a shock to be laid off. I had been "assitant manager" for so long I thought I was a part of the place and former customers thought so too. I next went to work for yet another building materials outfit. Willamette Graystone Inc (HQ'd in Eugene). It is a masonry and hardscapes manufacturing, wholesale and retail operation. I guess you could say I moved up to permanent building materials. I worked there from Sep 2001 until last January. There aren't many benefits to working in retail unless you like long hours, low pay and lots of stre...Expand for more