This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Linda Zierolf, 80, who lives near Dayton, Ohio. She has worked at the same company since she was 18 and has no plans to retire. Zierolf, who is financially comfortable, said her company, while very different from a staffing and technology perspective, still has the same values and friendly people it had in the 1960s. Her words have been edited for length and clarity.
My company is celebrating its 70th year this year, and I have been here for 56 of them.
I’m still here because I really like the work and enjoy being busy. I’m not someone who can just sit around. Most of my friends are retired, but they say they wish they had worked longer.
When I graduated from high school, I had barely stepped off the stage when my dad asked when I was going to get a job.
I went to an employment agency, and the first place they sent me was an industrial wholesale company called Main Line Supply. I think I only got the job because I went to a Catholic all-girls high school, and the gentleman who interviewed me was Catholic.
I still have my receipt from the employment agency I paid to get the job. Every year that I’ve been here, I take it to my boss and say, “Are you going to reimburse me this year?”
When I started, I made $62 a week before taxes. My father worked for General Motors, and he thought I needed to work there instead. He got me an interview, and they offered me a job as a secretary for the engineering department. I would have gone from $62 to $300 a week, plus all the GM benefits. I turned them down. My father, until his dying day at 97, never understood why.
Even at that young age, I knew I wouldn’t like working for a big company. I would rather work for a smaller company where I figured what I did mattered and they knew who I was. My bosses came to my wedding with their families.
When I started work, I was the secretary, so I took shorthand, typed letters, filed, and answered questions. From the moment I walked in, I loved every aspect of it.
I worked here for five years, and then I left because I got married, and my husband was in the Army. We went to Germany for two years, and I had my children. When they were a little older, I came back.
My career grew as more women became our clients
When one of our largest customers got a woman buyer, my boss went to meet with her. He came back and said, “I don’t think we’re going to get along very well. Why don’t you go up?” I was scared to death, but I drove up there, and she and I hit it off.
I’ve been in sales ever since, mostly because of the women coming into the workforce as buyers. I would walk into these factories because all the stuff that we sell is for factory workers, and the first couple of times, the mostly male staff would not be very friendly and would give me a terrible look. I started being able to talk to them and solve some of their problems, and then we were fine.
There are a lot more women than when I first started. We were all secretaries, and we really weren’t out there. But it was wonderful to see the women at this company evolve.
I’ve only asked for a raise once, and it about killed me. My boss asked, “How much do you want?” I responded, and he said, “OK, done.” I was flabbergasted.
Face-to-face meetings have become less necessary
The original people who started this company are all gone, but my boss is now the owner. They have treated me extremely well, even as they’ve grown. When I first got here, we had maybe 15 employees and one location. Now, we have three locations and almost 80 employees. My boss told me I could stay and do whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted. So, as long as I feel that I’m contributing, I will stay.
The biggest change is the computer. Before then, we made very few long-distance calls because we were charged for each call. Everything went through the mail, so it took a lot longer.
Now, I don’t know how we would ever get along without it. It gives us so much more information. Before, we would have to go through all the files by hand. Now it’s right at our fingertips. In some ways, I miss the old way of doing things.
The other thing that’s changed for me is that with email, people don’t want to see you as much. All they want is for you to reply with an email. We were used to always going out and having face-to-face meetings.
One time, one of my customers got married and was expecting a baby. I got a phone call and she said, “Can you come over to the hospital?” I hopped in my car and went over there, and I was with her husband, her mother, and her while she was in labor.
When my husband and I went on a vacation, if I went near any of my customers, I would go to their plant and see where my products were in use. I would also see if they’re buying things from other people that they could have bought from us. I still take trips to visit customers.
I’ve been all over the place. Every time we went to a meeting, we probably met two or three new customers we never would have met otherwise. I’ve taken things to customers on weekends or after work. If a customer needs something and they’re going to have a shutdown, we fly it in.
One change I don’t like is that a lot of the people I called on used to work in factories and got the chance to come into purchasing, and knew what they were buying. I don’t see that so much anymore. When someone calls me up, they just give me an item’s number. They probably have no idea what that item is, where it goes, how it’s used, etc. People just want to send in an order, and that’s it.
I’ve also noticed that some people who don’t have a college education don’t often get the chance. A couple of the buyers that I worked with came right out of the factory, and they were good because they knew what they were buying.
I’m 80, but have no plans to retire
During the pandemic, they didn’t want me in here at all, and I just kept coming in, and they kept sending me home. We were considered an essential company, so we never closed. I asked my boss if I could stay full-time, and he said fine, but I said I’d like to work a bit from home. I come into the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the rest of the time, I work from home.
Work keeps my mind going and gives me a purpose. I also would never want to disappoint the friends I’ve made here.
I’ve walked four half-marathons, and I’m going to do another 10k this fall. I have six grandchildren who keep me busy. I crochet a lot and make baby hats and blankets for a charity helping expectant mothers. I also garden a lot and go out with my friends to dinner or the movies. I do have a husband and a home to take care of.
Putting it all together, I don’t sit down very much.
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