As I drove down Main Street in Patchogue, I came to the corner of Grove Avenue and East Main Street. There on the corner is a monument to all my hard work, dedication and dreams of becoming an artist and designer, as a young fellow. It sits in the form of an old factory that has helped more than one member of the family.The building is in great disrepair, breaking my heart and soul, and leaving me in greater need of renovation. The great glass block windows and red brick, which made up the building, were going to seed, as they say. Large plywood panels covered the windows, the doors were seal tight, and all the memories that I had growing up into adulthood were behind those doors.
As I drove I looked at the small step like border that surrounded the building. It is on that long step that many a philosopher sat, on his lunch hour or coffee break, extolling the virtues of this country in one hand, and tearing it apart in the other. I can still remember the bus stop, on the corner, the ladies getting off the bus for their jobs, and later on boarding it heir homes.
When I turned the corner on which the old factory stands, a landmark as much as the old lace mill on the west end, and the old Rialto theatre on South Ocean Avenue. I see the narrow and long entrance where Reich Brothers, the local trucking outfit sent their 18 wheelers to load up the days shipments to the various terminals where they connected with Sears Roebuck and delivered the play clothing that the old Factory, Rollic, Inc., made its living.
I wondered how they could let the demise of this great landmark of so many souls continue. To me this building was a schoolhouse for life, a teaching and proving grounds for adulthood. The lessons learned were harsh, but to the point: “Get an education!” The pay was minimum wage, but the payoff of lessons learned was big! No diploma could match the invisible sheepskin I received at Rollic.
To this day, retired, I still have this small fear in the back of my mind that makes me think: I better stay on top of my game, because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in Rollic!
4 comments:
I still remember the song on the radio: "You'll love your Rolic job!" It truly was a learning experience for all of us. It made you know that college was the way to go.
Go back to college; Rollic is spelled with 2 L's
Your younger brother
Like so many American manufacturers, they were probably put out of business by cheap imported clothes. A big chunk of American manufacturing along with millions of factory jobs were lost to overseas companies. It was a mistake to give them up without a fight. We now have high unemployment among blue-collar workers who can't or won't go to college. Glad Rollin was around all those years ago to give you an incentive to get an education.
Damn! That song was on the radio??? I thought it was something we made up as kids!! geez... I can hear us singing it!
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