The quieter you become the more you can hear ~ Ram Dass



Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Alphabe-Thursday

For letter J, I went with Juvenile Court.  Why you ask?

After I graduated from high school, my friend insists that I called her up one day and said "Let's go jobbin".  Yes, she said, I said "jobbin".  Just so you know, I don't remember using that term but she has a mind like a steel trap unlike me so I defer to her better memory ;-)

Anyhow, from what I remember ;-), another friend of ours worked downtown at Juvenile Court and told us they were hiring.  We went there to apply.  We both got jobs.  She was going to work in the personnel department and I was put in one of two steno pools.  We never did any stenography but I assume at one time they did, thus the name and they just never changed it.

In my office we had to type up reports for the judges.  The probation officers would dictate into Dictaphones their findings regarding whatever the child was being brought in for and then a family history.  We had to put little ear phones in and type as we listened.  We typed on MANUAL typewriters.  We had to use that little white tapey stuff to make corrections.  Boy, was that a pain.  Also, some of the PO's (probation officers) were late in turning in their stuff.  We would be jammed with so many reports to do some times,  we were finishing up right until the deadline of court. I remember also at times,  them coming to me and dictating verbally to me while I typed.  Sometimes they would even come to us about different things that we had to work out with them about different case things.  Talk about stress.  It was very interesting though learning about each kids family history and stuff.

Occasionally, if they needed extra help I would go downstairs and answer phones.  If they didn't answer I would have to page them or take messages.  I loved doing this it was a lot less stressful.  Also, when people came to pick up their messages we could joke around a lot.

Working there was the first time I ever saw someone with a studded nose ring.  This is not unusual now but this was in the 70's.  I think she was a woman before her time LOL.

Also this was a time of sexual harassment.  Although we didn't know that term at the time.  We just knew there were certain people we stayed away from because we considered them jerks.

At that time, I would say most of the PO's were men.  Most were very nice.  I worked there probably for about 7 or 8 years.  I remember how disturbed I became when the PO's that were coming in were starting to be younger than me.  It was an eye opener - even though I was still young.

My supervisor got bumped upstairs when that supervisor left and I was put in charge.  It was then I realized, I wasn't boss material.  I didn't have it in me to tell people what to do.  I still don't - except for my husband.  Probably about a year or so later I quit.

I really enjoyed working there. I did meet a lot of really nice people.   Shortly, before I left we got electric typewriters and it was hard for me to learn.  I suppose now they would have computers.  I bet they are joyful that they don't have to use manual or electric typewriters.  I know I would have been jubilant.

I wish I could juxtapose the PO's now and see if they are much more jaded.  With all the problems kids have nowadays, I'm sure it is more difficult than it used to be.  I'm also sure their caseloads are a lot bigger also.

Go over to Jenny's and see what others used for their J word  http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/2010/03/alphabe-thursday-j.html

42 comments:

Debbiedoos said...

Looks like we where both thinking the Judicial system:) Great J...

Betty said...

What an interesting job. I'm sure you got quite an education when it came to juvenile crime.

I too used a manual typewriter. Then we got IBM electric typewriters! That was a big deal. How times have changed.

Jenny said...

Studded nose rings. Wow! Back then?

Do you remember when they got rid of the little white sticky tape and got that white liquid? I thought that was just the most amazing invention ever!

This is a really interesting J post!

And since you posted so early I'm thinking you can definitely have an extra recess!

A+

Kat said...

What an interesting job! But I imagine it was very stressful at times. And I can only imagine what it would be like now. It takes very special people to do this job. I remember when I got to change from a manual typewriter to an IBM Selectric with a correction button - wow, I was on cloud 9 :)
Great post. Kathy

mrs. c said...

Sounds like a eye-opening job, I think you were pretty young and saw lots of sad stuff. i had one of those typewriters and used that white tape! Thank you for your prayers for my SIL Cindy.

Prairiemaid said...

I used liquid paper by the 5 gallon drum! LOL

This is my first alphabe-thurs link up. I don't think I did it quite right, but after reading some of the posts, I'll do better next week!

I worked in the Court House during the 70's, too.

Loved you "J" story!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Interesting post...thanks for a fun story.

Vicki/Jake said...

JUST a great J post! That would have been an interesting job for sure...

Annesphamily said...

Great job doing this post! I really liked reading this one! Come see me soon!

Steph said...

Really interesting life post. What it must have been like going fresh out of highschool in to this job. I always hate that white correction tape too and actually never used a type-writer well. So thankful for computers. It's really neat to think about your time starting out juxtaposed with now and you wrote so well to enable this.

Pondside said...

Hi Viki - I spend my days in an atmosphere very much like you've described. Small world!

Jo said...

That must have been a very interesting education in Justice ... and yeah, i remember steno pools and bottles of white out and gestetnar (sp?)machines and .... well dont want to date myself too much!

jaydubblah said...

Hi, interesting post. I remember when secretaries only had manual typewriters. I was a lawyer and documents had to be spot on. Not cool when you made a mistake on page 43!
Here is my J

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

If you have to go to "JUVIE", yours was the best way to do it.

Back in the 1970's, before sexual harassment existed (HA!), there literally were JERKS in every single workplace and it was tiresome, wasn't it?

Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler said...

Very interesting. I always wondered what it would be like to work in justice, or in a hospital. I'll probably never do either of those things.

MrsJenB said...

Wow, it must have been fascinating to hear all the stories of the people you were typing reports on. Fascinating and probably sad at times, too, I would imagine. That sort of stuff always interests me!

The Muse said...

i often talk to my grandchildren about ancient artifacts, such as typewriters...lol

what a wave of memories you have sent my way today.

(ps...i do agree about your reflection on the S. harassment...there were just certain peeps you made a WIDE berth for, if you could!)

Maggie said...

Such an interesting J post, how things have changed in 40 years!
Thanks for coming over to Normandy
~Maggie~

Lola said...

What an interesting post - how times have changed!

Thanks for popping over to Andalucia, Spain! Look forward to *seeing* you again sometime!

XOXO LOLA:)

Unknown said...

juvi court...that must have been really eye opening. i can only imagine how difficult that job is now.
okay.. i used to use the ibm typewriter to type out loan documents in duplicate and different colors. i would have a rainbow of white-out to apply to each page...it was such a pain..and forget it if i was typing a deed of trust...no mistakes or white out allowed--it gives me the hives just to think about it. I was joyful when brother came out with the erasable typewriter ink stuff...that changed my life
happy alphabe-thursday
and ps...pj told on you...so don't be surprised if you get a demerit

Unknown said...

Sounds like an interesting job! I do remember that white sticky correction tape ... I must've used miles of it.

Blessings,
Catherine :)

Sarah said...

Vicki, what an interesting post. I do remember the white tape. I sometimes wish I still had my old Corona typewriter, though it was my Selectric with the ball that was my favorite. Do you remember those?
Thanks for stopping by Hyacinths!

Tracy said...

Wow what an interesting J Job and blog thank you

My name is Riet said...

What an interesting job you had.Great J word.

GardenOfDaisies said...

Oh phew! When I saw your title, I was so afraid that I was going to hear about someones awful childhood and how they ended up in Juvi hall. Was I ever relieved to hear it was for your job!! Unfortuntately one of my best friends has first hand knowledge. Her son really messed up big time and was put there. We are hoping that now he is past his 18th birthday the big mistakes are behind him.

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

What an interesting job, and great J post!

I too had my share with manual typewriter, and electric one, and white-out..

Unknown said...

I haven't met anyone that did that job before. Thanks for stopping by.

Amy said...

Wow...I though liquid paper was the first correction thing...never knew there was a white tape for corrections. Very interesting post Viki!

Jackie said...

What a neat Job!

Unknown said...

Dear Vicki,

Thank you for visiting and commenting on my J-post. I am so late that I was wondering if anyone was going to have time to look at my post.

Thank you for sharing about your mother and beading. Yes, jewelry-making has a wide range from children's beading to the very rare pieces like the one I showed on my abc-Wednesday-post
(Take a look when you get the time:
http://annasadornments.blogspot.com/2010/03/abc-wednesday-j-j-as-in-jewellery.html#links )

I was very curious about your post when I read the title on the list. What an interesting job! And it is good that you mentioned all the details about typewriter correction tape etc. I used to work with print-advertising and went through all the changes from a lot of handmade camera-ready-art to computer-graphics and all the stages in between.

Our working lives are indeed at the mercy of different technical innovations. For many years I hated how computers were making my work obsolete, until it dawned on me that I could make computers work for me instead!

Best wishes,
Anna

Brenda said...

I bet that was an interesting job. But I probably could not do it because I get upset watching movies where children are treating badly or get in trouble. I had to type from the same type of machine the first job I had after high school. I worked in a hospital and had to type of medical reports for doctors. What a hoot to think of how much easier it would be now.

Andrea said...

I think it would be an interesting job! I was once called for jury duty. While waiting we heard some cases of kids coming before the judge. The parents were asked questions as well. It was interesting. I didn't get picked for the actual case though.

Amanda Lee said...

Wow! This was such an interesting post! I'm sure you learned a lot about people at this job.

Beth Zimmerman said...

What an interesting J post. I bet the job has changed a lot over the years. I started out as a Social Work major in college but decided pretty quickly that it was liable to break my heart so I switched to Accounting. LOL. Numbers are much easier on us tender hearts!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. I wanted to return the visit and I enjoyed reading your post ... especially the line about not bossing anyone about except your husband! Boy can I relate! LOL! Anyway ... I like the way you write so I joined your followers. Looking forward to getting to know you!

Beth

Amy said...

what an interesting job..

lissa said...

interesting work, it must be quite different from today, of cause now, people love vintage typewriters

thanks for your visit

Short and Sweet said...

What an interesting "J" post and story. I remember both manual and electric typewriters before computers! I could never go back to typewriters again.

Unknown said...

My husband was the Circuit Judge with primary jurisdiction over juvenile court for many years. He only recently turned that over to another judge in order to focus on DHS cases. It remains one of his true loves, however. Thanks for sharing. I took a little mini-vacation this week with Hubby, but Crock Pot Wednesday will be back up this coming week. I hope you will join me.

Terri Steffes said...

Thanks for coming over to my blog. Loved reading about your J.

Unknown said...

things have changed a lot in the job world since then.......not sure if it all is for the better..no manual typewriters though.....

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

My daughter in law is a juvenile probate officer. She really works hard to try and help these kids..it's a stressful job, but she's very good at it..

Jacque said...

Good Morning Viki,

Your "J"ob experiences sound too familiar!! I still have "correction tape" in my desk--no lie!! I wish I had an old manual typewriter...even though I HATED them! I worked for physician and typed all his records from dictation--which I loved, because he talked so fast when I took shorthand, I had to rely too much on MY memory!!

Thanks for sharing your memories with us today!