… It was an enjoyable whirlwind. That would best describe my last two years of high school. I asked my coworkers if I should continue with this story and they all shook their heads yes. I informed them that one of my friends was working at a Coney Island owned by the Keros family. They also ran the Coney Island on Lafyette Street in Detroit. He was able to get me a job there in the fall of my junior year, and I returned the favor when my Vocational Teacher in my senior year of high school enrolled me in a coop program working for the Strelinger Corporation after school. I put in a good word for him and they hired him. They started him working the sales desk. The jobs were only part-time but they paid way better then the Coney Island. It gave us money to fix our cars and drive them.
… I completed all my requirements to graduate in my junior year and could choose classes I was interested in my senior year. I chose two vocational classes and loved them both. The classes had all the newest technology and I learned quite a bit. The first class was Graphic Arts and it met for one hour and a half. We printed the school paper and all the emblems the school used at its many functions. I learned how to set up printing plates for the large Heidelberg press which then in turn would print the papers. I learned to silk screen and run the smaller presses as well. We used cameras to take pictures and burn the images onto plates used to print. It was a sophisticated process and our Instructor was awesome.
… The second class was an Industrial Metal Shop class and there I learned much about metallurgy. I was taught to weld which included: Arc Welding, Tig and Mig Welding, Gas Welding, and using Gas Iron Cutting Blow Torches. We also used the new metal lathes to make cutting tools for machining. I learned to read a micrometer and how it was to be applied for the correct thickness of cutting. The metal lathes were more like milling machines but much more sophisticated. I enjoyed this class immensely. It was all hands on. My Instructor was also my co-op Teacher and I would tell him how my work at Strelingers was going. I had to tell him that once the union people were gone for the day they would have me drive their brand new GM El-Camino to deliver parts to some rather large corporations. He smiled.
… I really enjoyed that but some of the companies I delivered to took a long time to get somebody to sign for the package I was delivering. They would want me to just drop it off but Strelingers was insistent that I not drop a package off without getting a signed receipt. I had to go toe to toe with a guy that looked like he was hopped up on drugs and booze and wanted me to just drop it off. I had informed him I couldn’t do that and he needed to sign for it. He told me to go to hell and I informed him that was no problem. I’ll just take the package back where it came from. He blew a gasket but by then a supervisor came over to me and signed for it. There were quite a few places like this I delivered to and I wondered how the work got done if the employees were stoned-high, usually alcohol, narcotics, or both.
..My Instructor told me to be careful and always ask for the supervisor. He would speak with the Strelingers Co-Op contact about me, and what I was experiencing. He informed me they really liked me and hoped I would stay with them after I graduated. Speaking of graduation: We became the first class of Sterling Heights High School to graduate in June of 1973. I couldn’t believe it went so fast, but I had plans to continue my education, and watched what my older brother had accomplished while I finished up in High School. He would be the beacon I would follow. I felt he always gave me great advice. He was completing his Associates Degree in Liberal Arts at Macomb Community College, while working, and was transferring to Oakland University to complete his Bachelor of Arts Degree. I thought that was awesome. My parents did too. …. My Life’s Journey To Be Continued…. …………………………..1 CORINITHIANS 12:12-20
MJ-Way 