The holiday season is underway, and for some students and staff, holiday work has not always been jolly. Making holiday spending money has not always come easy for these four people.
When Steve Ellis, general manager of 91.1. WMSV, was 16, his Christmas was a 24-hour shift at a radio station.
“I played every Christmas song in every version by every artist it seemed in that entire day and night I was there,” Ellis said. “If I had to play ‘Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer’ one more time I was going to go berserk.”
As his shift carried on through the night, a lady called the station asking Ellis if he had to work all day, too. He said he did and asked for any requests she had. The lady said she didn’t have any requests but wanted to bring him a Christmas plate. Ellis said his spirits were lifted by the gesture and gladly accepted.
The generous lady brought the plate to the station around noon and left it in the front lobby because Ellis was on-air. As he wrapped up the hour he went into the lobby to fetch his Christmas lunch. To his surprise, the sales manager had come into the station to get something and. on the way in, ate Ellis’s lunch. Ellis said he worked all day with no food.
Wrapping presents is not junior Kathryn McAfee’s cup of tea. She admits being a skillful wrapper now, but said that it’s no fun in the holiday season.
McAfee worked in a small gift shop in Rolling Fork last Christmas break.
“They were throwing gifts and me left and right and I was working in this tiny congested space,” McAfee said. “The worst part about it was finding boxes to fit the gifts.”
Not only did McAfee wrap gifts for hours upon hours, she played the role of delivery girl for the shop.
Senior Paul Durff said he spent one Christmas working in a cold tin warehouse. He said working at the farm supply in Lexington was no vacation.
“The feed was heavy and it was freezing,” said Durff. “Not to mention that the warehouse had no heat at all.”
From 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Durff worked in the cold to get the farmers their feed. At the end of the chilly day they had to put all the tickets from the purchases in a book and balance it accurately. Luckily, he said, the tickets always balanced out.