1948 - Other Jobs with Uncle Bud

Other Jobs with Uncle Bud. After graduation in 1948, while I was waiting to hear something about my college applications, we decided that we could do car washing in one corner of the parking lot. On my first job I washed a car and did not realize that I had to dry the car. When the owner returned, he was very upset because the car was covered with water spots. After rewashing the car, I then made sure that all future cars were well dried. My boss had just bought a new Hudson sedan. One of the main features was the floor was low with a step down to get in. Well, I did a very complete job, however we did not know that the weather stripping on the passenger door was not installed properly. When I opened the door, I found the floor was flooded with about 2 inches of water. We finally decided that this was not the business that we wanted. He then decided that the moving business would be a good move, so he bought a truck and we started the "Ace Moving Company".

This was a very interesting experience. Bud Tompkins had some prior experience in the moving business and the business took off. There were just the two of us that were permanent. When we had a job, we would go to a "pick up" corner and see who would like to work for a day or two. We began to know many of the men and would pick the men who had the experience that we needed. Most of these men were black and even in New Jersey there was quite a lot of prejudice. In most areas when we went to lunch, we would have to go into the diner and bring out food for all of us. We often worked with Mr. Mosely. He was a great guy and we were a good team. He knew the moving business and was an expert in how to pack a truck. When we went to a house, he would walk into each room and then go back to the truck. He would tell me what he wanted and it fit into the exact place in the truck. Nothing moved around after he packed. He was also a very strong man. He had arms that were bigger than my legs. When we would have a heavy piece, like a refrigerator, he would tell me to take the light end and he would easily handle the heavy and off we would go. During this time, I was also working in the parking lot. One night I caught some kids going up the fire escape. As I chased them off, one of the boys said that he was going to tell his brother. Not too long after, he returned with his "Big" brother. As I looked up at him, I wondered if I would soon be a grease spot there in the lot. Then to my surprise I heard the familiar voice of Mr. Mosely, who had been working with me that day on the moving van. He stepped up to me and said, "Bob is my friend and I would be very upset if he were hurt." The brother looked at him and said "Yes Sir." From then on, those kids would always say hello as they walked through the lot and they did not try to sneak in while I was working.