Memories of My First Job: Sorting Pop Bottles at Anderson's Grocery

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The seemingly mundane task of sorting pop bottles at my Uncle Earl's grocery store became my entry point into the world of work—at just nine years old. When my uncle looked at me one day and declared "you need a job," little did I know how those simple responsibilities would shape my character for decades to come.

Working at Anderson's Grocery in Pine Knot, Kentucky during the 1970s meant organizing returnable soda bottles by brand, sweeping the store porch every evening, and picking up trash from the gravel parking lot by hand. For about $20 a week—decent money for a child back then—I learned lessons about responsibility that no classroom could provide. The most disgusting part? Cleaning up cigarette butts when someone emptied their car ashtray in the parking lot—a chore that instilled in me a lifelong commitment to never litter.

This episode isn't just about childhood nostalgia; it's about recognizing how formative experiences shape us. Anderson's Grocery wasn't merely a store selling groceries, gas, feed, seed, and countless other essentials—it was a community hub where relationships mattered more than transactions. People knew each other by name. Conversations weren't rushed. In today's fast-paced world, perhaps we've lost something valuable that small town stores understood intuitively. What was your first job, and what did it teach you? Take a moment to reflect on those early experiences and consider sharing them with the people around you, creating a legacy of stories that transcend generations.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Dan the Road Trip Guy.
I'm your host, dan, and eachweek we'll embark on a new
adventure, discovering memoriesand life lessons of our
incredible guests, from everydaytravelers to thrill seekers and
everyone in between.
This podcast is your front rowseat to inspiring stories of
passion, resilience and thepursuit of happiness.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride.

(00:24):
I am back home in Cincinnati.
The last couple of weekendshave been fun weekends of travel
.
Linda and I were able to attendthe opening round of the IndyCar
2025 season in St PetersburgFlorida visit with Aunt Linda

(00:46):
for a good bit, and then thefollowing weekend I actually
went back.
Linda spent the week with her.
I went back and we test drove aTesla and I thought I would
never say this, but it was anamazing car.
Doubt that I'll ever own one,because you know we're BMW fans,
but it is worth a test drive.
I usually tell people, if youdon't even like auto racing, you

(01:08):
have to go to the Indy 500 atleast once.
Well, I would say that's truefor a Tesla.
You probably ought to go driveone just once.
For Christmas in 2023, mydaughter Lauren gave me the gift
of a product called StoryWorth.
You can check it out atStoryWorth.
You can check it out atstoryworthcom.
She basically picked 53questions for me to answer.

(01:30):
She has heard me say time andtime again I regret not asking
my own parents some questions,so maybe that drove her to give
me this gift, but it was anamazing gift.
I fell behind a few times andhad to catch up.
Gift I fell behind a few timesand had to catch up.
I actually just finished my53rd story this past week and I

(01:50):
must say it's been fun for meand I hope it's something that
she and Henry will hold on tofor the rest of their lives.
Just some fun stories.
As you know, this podcast isall about stories, really other
people's stories, andoccasionally I throw in one of
my own.
Well, I thought I would sharesome of these answers to these
stories and my only reason fordoing it is not to share about

(02:13):
me, but it's to encourage you totake maybe this question I'm
going to share and answer it inyour own way and hopefully it'll
bring back some memories foryou and it might leave a story
for your family and friends forthem to enjoy.
So here we go.
This is kind of a test run ofthis.
If you want, you can reach outto me and say don't like those,

(02:36):
dan, stick to having guests.
So the question was how did youget your first job?
And here's the story.
This is going to be a fun story.
I have to go back to being aboutnine years old.
I grew up across the streetfrom Anderson's Grocery.
It was started by mygrandparents in Rock Creek,
kentucky.
Rock Creek was well off thebeaten path from the town center

(02:57):
of Pine Knot.
I'm not certain of the year mygrandparents moved to Pine Knot,
but the store moved with them.
My mom was a staple at thestore until her retirement,
working for Uncle Earl, who hadpurchased the store.
I have so many memories of thestore and one of those was my
first job.
As I said, I was nine.
My brother had left for college.

(03:17):
My cousin Connie, who was UncleEarl's son, had left for
college also and would laterserve our country in the Navy.
I will always remember walkingacross the street to the store.
My uncle was sorting pop bottles.
Yes, there was a day whenpeople bought soda we called it
pop in a bottle which would thenbe returned.

(03:37):
When you bought the pop, youwere charged a deposit on the
bottles and then credited.
When you returned the bottlesBack to my first job, uncle Earl
looked at me and said you needa job.
He put me to work straighteningthe pop bottles.
That is what he called it.
You have to organize by brandand the delivery person for
Pepsi Coke, rc yes, that's right.

(03:59):
Roll Crown Cola Company forthem to pick them up.
I quickly learned all thedifferent brands that did not
stand out as Pepsi Coke or RC.
There were brands like TabSprite, a&w, diet Right, fresca
Crush and 7-Up, to name a few.
The other part of my job was tosweep the store porch every

(04:20):
evening.
The parking lot was gravel,which created quite a bit of
dust.
It was amazing how dirty theporch would get in just one day.
I was supposed to do this eachevening after closing at 7 pm.
Some nights I would get busy ormaybe just lazy, I don't recall
.
The store opened at 7 30 eachmorning and if I missed the
cleanup the night before, my momwould wake me up early to sweep

(04:43):
up.
The other part of the cleanupjob was picking up trash in the
parking lot.
Remember it was gravel.
This was done by hand oroccasionally I would use a rake.
It is probably the task thathas always prevented me from
throwing trash on the ground.
The most disgusting part of theparking lot cleanup was when
someone would decide to emptytheir ashtray.
Yes, cars in those days hadashtrays.

(05:06):
I worked every day of the weekexcept Sunday.
The store was always closed onSunday.
If my memory serves me correct,I was paid around $20 a week.
I'm not bad for a nine-year-oldboy in the 70s.
I would later go on to bagginggroceries, doing delivery.
Yes, long before today'sdelivery services, we were

(05:27):
delivering, taking orders.
Again, we were way ahead.
People would call in theirorders, stocking the shelves and
still cleaning up.
I love the store and all thepeople who were part of it.
It is a memory that I'll neverforget.
It was a slower time whenpeople knew each other by name.
They took time to haveconversations.
It was never just about a storeselling groceries, gas, feed,

(05:53):
seed, flower plants, carbatteries, motor oil and
everything else under the sun.
It was about relationship.
Slow down today, build arelationship with the people
around you.
I hope you enjoyed this littledrive down memory lane for me
and I do hope you'll take time.
Think about your first job.
Think about the memories itbrings back for you.

(06:15):
You'll take time, think aboutyour first job, think about the
memories it brings back for youand do build a relationship with
those people around you.
Thank you for tuning in to Danthe Road Trip Guy.
I hope you enjoyed our journeytoday and the stories that were
shared.
If you have any thoughts orquestions or stories of your own
, I'd love to hear from you.
Feel free to reach out to meanytime.
Don't forget to share thispodcast with your friends and

(06:35):
family and help us to spread thejoy of road trips and great
conversations.
Until next time, keep driving,keep exploring and keep having
those amazing conversations.
Safe travels and remember youcan find me on the internet at
dantheroadtripguycom.