Man, 90, still works at firm that hired him in 1941

[underpants]

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/oct/21/bill21-ar-576464/

His fiancée gave Wilbur E. Ellis an ultimatum: Quit running with bootleggers and get a respectable job, or their marriage was off.

Love won out. Ellis scoured the help-wanted ads in the newspaper and found honest work. Almost 70 years later, he's still on the job.

Ellis celebrated his 90th birthday the other day by going to work at the same place -- Atlantic Electrical Supply Corp. of Richmond -- where he was hired in the spring of 1941 and where he still works full time as a purchasing agent.

He got mixed up with bootleggers, running illegal whisky, before his future wife, Phyllis Franck, persuaded him to change his ways. He read of an opening at Atlantic Electrical and applied. He was hired, along with another man, for a monthlong tryout. Whoever performed best would get the job full time. The next week, the other guy was arrested for stealing a typewriter from a house.

You might see him pedaling his 60-year-old bicycle around the West End. He rides 5 to 10 miles a day and sometimes more on weekends. His sons have suggested he get a new bike since his current one is so old and hard to pedal. That's the point, he said.

Ellis' wife died in 1995 after 54 years of marriage. They raised two sons and a daughter who was born with cerebral palsy and died in her 30s.

[JANdad]

1. I dunno...

Maybe someone else, say a youngster with a family could use that job....just sayin'...

[Travis_0004]

2. The man has a right to work as long as he wants

Are you saying people should be forced to retire at a certain age? Even if he doesn't need the money if he is happy working, then let the man work.

[Moonbat2]

6. I Agree

will you hire me??

[leftstreet]

21. Ugh. I can't believe you just used the term 'Right to Work'

on a Democratic forum no less

:banghead:

[Regret My New Name]

23. He said nothing wrong in the context in which he was speaking

What he said had nothing to do with unions. So what exactly did he say that is not acceptable for a democrat to say? Would it be different if he said "he has every right to have a job"?

[Posteritatis]

30. Who needs context when we have kneejerk outrage? (nt)

[Papa Boule]

3. I dunno...

How about jobs for everybody who wants one, so no one has to do without one or be pushed aside for someone younger? Just sayin'...

[Obamanaut]

5. I dunno...perhaps some folks would rather see this man tossed out

onto an ice floe. He is working, he is quite likely happy, leave him be.

BTW urban dictionary gives this for 'just sayin' "Phrase used whenever someone says something that's offensive, or hurtful, mean etc. It's is used to automatically erase what was just said, as if the person never said it."

[Dappleganger]

12. Some people just like to work...

it gives them purpose and something to look forward to every day. And who is to say they would replace the man after he's gone, they may just spread his duties out between several other people.

[sabrina 1]

29. Maybe he needs the money to live a decent life and is able to do

the work to earn it. How many Seniors trying to live on SS are able to live decent lives? We better get used to seeing people doing this as we do not take care of our elderly in this country.

Clearly this man is taking care of himself. We are a rich enough country that there should be full employment for all Americans, young and old. But the country has been sold out and jobs are gone overseas that those young people you are talking about could have if it weren't for the greed of our corporations.

Maybe your question should be directed towards those who have actually deprived Americans of jobs rather than a man who chose not to live in the poverty most of our seniors are forced to live in and take care of himself.

We can add 'ageism' to all our other 'isms' I guess. I think it's admirable and inspiring to see someone not allow age to prevent him from living a full life. Should we lie down and die after the designated age assigned to us from wherever? I don't think so and hope I can be doing what he is doing at his age. That makes growing old far more desirable imho.

[Posteritatis]

31. Or simply enjoys his work, which would also be 100% of the justification he needs. (nt)

[sabrina 1]

33. Yes, I think I covered that, although maybe not very clearly.

But as you say, that IS all the justification he needs. :-)

[Nye Bevan]

40. I'm with you. What a selfish old fart.

He's effectively *stealing* that job from a youngster with a family. I hope you point this out to anyone you ever encounter in gainful employment who looks older than about 65.

[deacon]

4. Under GOP leadershp he would only have 10 more years to go until he could get SS. n/t

n/t.

[sabrina 1]

34. Lol! Good one!

:rofl:

[Martin Eden]

7. Prohibition was repealed in 1933 ...

... when Mr. Ellis was 13 years old and apparently quite precocious for his age, having a fiance and running around with bootleggers. Still, it took him another 8 years to get a job.

[underpants]

8. There still exists today illegal booze operations

Moonshine - Franklin County Va is the epicenter on the east coast. So it is no surprise that the operations back then tried to keep their business running.

[ejpoeta]

9. i believe there are still illegal stills around to this day. just because it was repealed

doesn't mean it's not still around. there are other reasons people might prefer moonshine.

[dsc]

11. Federal prohibition ended in 33

many counties in the south stayed dry for years and some even still are.

[Obamanaut]

19. True. I live in one of those dry counties. We can buy beer and wine,

but must go across the county line to buy liquor. 'Some say' there is homemade liquor available in our county.

But on Sunday, we cannot even buy beer.

[slackmaster]

15. News Flash - There are still bootleggers, moonshiners, and rum runners operating today

It's a tax thing.

[slackmaster]

16. Double-tap

:hide:

[Gormy Cuss]

18. The real question is

what are you pouring from that double-tap, and will the revenuers care?
:P

[Scuba]

10. Poster child for Republicans.

[scarletwoman]

22. What is that supposed to mean? Why shouldn't he keep working if he wants to?

Should he stop riding his bicycle, too? Would curling up on his couch and waiting to die be less "republican" of him?

[awoke_in_2003]

35. i think what he was trying to say....

that this is the type of guy that republicans would point to and say- "See. We don't need Social Security". I do not believe he was calling the gentlemen a republican.

[CanonRay]

13. I used met a guy who was 86 and still working

I asked him why, and he said he hated golf. That was it. He could have had his pension for over 20 years.

[rox63]

17. My great-aunt Alma worked into her 80's in a textile mill

She retired at age 82 to take care of her sister (my grandmother), who was terminally ill. After her sister died, Alma had a major heart attack that nearly killed her. She always claimed it was because she didn't go back to work. She lived until she was 97, and kept her wits until the very end.

[Obamanaut]

20. Miz O's uncle worked until about two months ago, when the cancer and

treatments got to be too much for him.

He died two weeks ago at age 77. He was a welder.

[slackmaster]

14. I'm appalled that after all these decades people are still using that horrible electricity

There has to be a better way!

[Odin2005]

24. Very cool story!

[proteus_lives]

25. Tough old codger.

They don't make like that anymore.

[Matariki]

26. Phyllis Franck should not have married him anyway.

Having to (in the 40's) take on his name and become Phyllis Ellis. Terrible name, whereas Phyllis Franck has a nice ring to it.

I'm kidding of course.

[Primitive Mind]

27. I know a guy...

Who was 84, an electrical engineer, still riding his motorcycle, and still chasing women. The man loves life. Why should he have to stop?

[Odin2005]

28. The ageism in this thread is nauseating.

What happened to respecting elderly people?

[underpants]

38. What happened to respecting the guy himself?

I thought it was a nice story - the bike part especially

[Vickers]

32. When I saw the thread title, it just seemed sad, but after reading the story

that is pretty freaking cool.

Kinda makes me want to go lube up the chain on my 20 year old bike!!!

[awoke_in_2003]

36. good...

I am glad he is doing this because he wants to, not has to.

[BoWanZi]

37. More power to him. If hes happy and doing fine, why not let him work?

Since he works, isn't he less of a user of SS? Seems okay to me, leaves a little bit more for others to use.

[jmowreader]

39. If this man retires he will be dead in six months. Max.

His whole life revolves around purchasing for Atlantic Electrical Supply. All his friends are there, or they're at the companies he buys from. If he retires, he'll have nothing left to live for and he'll be gone.

[Liquorice]

41. Do you know him or something? nt

[jmowreader]

42. The "or something" is operative here

I know a LOT of people like him, people who work and work and work until they're 80 or 90. Then they retire to lead the "good life," and they die because they've got nothing to do anymore so they feel useless.

And then there's Mr. Stoeckley. This fucking guy...he was 83 years old and still selling printing, just doing great, living a full and active life until we got a call from one of his clients..."someone from your company needs to come to Raleigh. Right now. He was picking up a job we wanted printed, and he died of a heart attack right in my office." The customer let everyone go home early because they all liked Mr. Stoeckley and they were all screwed up by seeing him die right there. (One of these days I'll put up a Mr. Stoeckley thread, and you'll like it.)