Today, January 17, 2020, marks the anniversary of my beginning work at the University of Kentucky 47 years ago. Earlier this week I watched a student arrive at the Margaret I. King Library for their interview for a student assistant position in the Special Collections Research Center. I could not help but reflect back on the day I did the same thing nearly a half century ago.
But it almost didn't happen. As I sat on a cold January day in my advisor's office on the 17th floor of the Patterson Tower, Dr. George C. Herring, a young, already internationally recognized scholar of American Foreign Policy, patiently took the time to discuss a book review I had submitted for his class. At one point he asked, "Do you know the book, Elements of Style?" I confessed I had never even heard of the book, much less read it, so he recommended I find a copy and study it. I assumed he thought it would improve my writing since I could tell from the title it had nothing to do with American diplomacy.
As our session was ending Dr. Herring's phone rang. I did not pay much attention to his conversation but he turned to me afterwards and said that a person from the Archives called asking if he knew any student that might need a job. Dr. Herring thought I might be interested. Thank you Dr. Herring, who I might add, became a dear life-long friend.
Well, in fact, I was not only very interested in the job, I desperately needed a job. I had lost a job making bourbon as a one person operation on Sunday mornings at the Wild Turkey Distillery. Then I lost jobs at the "For Mad Men Only" Bookstore and "The Store," adjoining enterprises in the 200 block of South Limestone. "For Mad Men Only" specialized in Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Ken Kesey, Herman Hesse, Eldridge Cleaver, and Tom Wolfe among other 60s authors. "The Store" on the other hand I will only describe as an enterprise that sold all types of paraphernalia and items a person still living the sixties "high life" might need including, among other things, an assortment of teas and colorful tapestries.
By the way, I did not lose any of my jobs for poor performance. A new labor union at the distillery demanded that my part-time, non-union position be discontinued. As a former member of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union (too complicated to explain here) I sympathized with the union even as I lost a good paying position. "For Mad Men Only" and "The Store" both closed for reasons that were above my pay grade but may have been because the sixties finally ended sometime in the mid-70s.
When I left Dr. Herring's office I walked directly over to Margaret I. King Library and applied for the student position. Fortunately, they hired me and I have made UK Libraries my life work. Now I look back on the past 47 years and am thankful for the opportunities and experiences afforded me by UK Libraries.
I hope we hired that young student I saw earlier this week and I hope their journey is as good as mine has been or even better if that is possible.
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