WELCOME TO THE NUT HOUSE
OCT. 2008- Temp
JAN. 2009-Hired
JUNE 2021-Retired
I nervously opened the front door and walked inside to a very small office space and was greeted by one of the two secretaries with a huge smile! She introduced herself as "Lindsey" as she guided me into another tiny office where I was to be interviewed. There sat a beautiful dark haired young women named Keri, with a little fuzzy white dog on her lap named Dixie Bell. She began to tell me the story of how the company was started and how she and her husband, Kris, came to be owners. It was a family thing, and I was intrigued. After hearing her story, I knew immediately that this was somewhere I would love to come to every day. I'm guessing the interview went well, I was called the next day and told to report to work on the following Monday. I was ecstatic. I was currently employed, but was not happy, to say the least! I needed change!
Anticipation all weekend...then Monday! Arriving early, I was brought into this little room called "The Plunking Room." It was a very small room, maybe a 12' X 14' or so. Here sat a couple ladies putting these little rivet type nuts into metal plates by an air gun machine. I see, Plunkers! I sat down to what was called a "Plunking Gun" and was shown what I was to do with it. Not hard, easy peasy, I got this! Wow, so different than the job I just left, this could be Heaven! It was almost like doing arts and crafts, just my cup of tea! A few minutes later, one of the ladies, which was introduced to me as Lora, looked me straight in the eye and said, and I quote, "by the way, we'll know if you pick your nose". I thought, "Oh Lord, what have I got myself into, this lady is crazy"....I had no idea! An hour or so later, I happened to look down at my hands and burst out laughing...yep, I get it! My fingertips where black as the ace of spades, if I pick my nose, they will know! Immediately I relaxed and knew without a doubt that I had made a great decision by accepting this job, and knew that a wonderful friendship was beginning to embark.
I was about the 12th or13th person hired into this little company. Everyone was friendly, nice, and helpful, and it wasn't long until I felt like part of a large family. People genuinely cared about each other, not only at work, but in their personal life as well. We all became mentors, teachers, psychologists, and doctors at times. We often referred to our little company as "The Land of the Misfits." Always a team member there to help you through a hard time!
Lunch was always a fun time. We would all eat together in this tiny little breakroom. There was only one long table and about a dozen chairs. One microwave, one refrigerator, one sink, one coffee pot!
We shared lunches too, and there was always plenty to go around. No one ever went hungry, that's for sure. Always snacks available left in the breakroom for anyone who got the munches! Very often our bosses would order food for all the employees and sit and eat with us. How could I get this lucky, or Blessed, I often thought!
Visions for the company began to grow, as did the employees. A steady stream of adding one or two employees a month continued. More office girls were hired and the little plunking room soon became office space. We were moved over to building #2, which was a partitioned off part of a metal type barn and somewhat larger than our previous space. We plunkers, now known as Assembly girls, loved it! It was OUR'S! Complete with our own bathroom, coffee pot, microwave, and the only air conditioning in the shop! We deemed it simply "The Nut House." Perfect name in more aspects than one. A place where crazy stuff happened. There were days when we would laugh till we literally cried. Sing our hearts out along with Michael Jackson and Alabama. Tell funny stories of days gone by, that involved elephants, kitty cats, fast cars, husbands, kids, and everything in between. We never shunned our duties though. We always got our work done and in record time. We just had fun doing it!
A tale worth sharing! You would have had to have been there!
Lora and I were working on a job that involved capping and taping terminal boards. Cardboard really helps with the capping part of this task and keeps from damaging the table, but it kept slipping around and causing us to get aggravated so we thought we would just tape that sucker down. We found some two sided tape out in the shop and taped that very large piece of cardboard to the table. Genius! All was well, job finished in record time. We bragged to everyone about how fast we had put out the 2500 pieces. Now it was time to start the clean up. Lora grabbed hold of the corner of the cardboard and gave it a big yank. I'll never forget the look on her face, eyes as big as saucers! Words flew from out of her mouth that I can't begin to repeat! HA! ...that cardboard was NOT coming off! We began to pull it off in little tiny strips, however the tape was still stuck to the table. OH MY how are we going to get this off? We used everything we could think of. Acetone, denatured alcohol, goop off, a couple other chemicals in cans that I can't remember the name of, scrapers, blades, you name it, we tried it. I guess all of the chemicals caused the tape to become like snot. Runny, slimy, sticky, gross, snot. We would scrape and try to sling that stuff into the trash can. Strings of snot, at least 2 foot long, sometimes we made it, sometimes it landed on the floor. All we could think of was to pray to the Good and Gracious Lord God that the bosses didn't feel the need to come into The Nut House at that given moment. All the while we scraped, rubbed, poured, and prayed, we were laughing hysterically. Scrape and laugh, scrape and laugh, with a few choice words thrown in here and there. I think we may have been on a high from all of the chemicals we used, but 'funny' would be understatement. Probably about 3 hours later we had gotten the mess off the table, off the floor, into the trash can and out the door. Still laughing uncontrollably and thanking God in the process that no one observed this mess except us! As I've said before, you would have had to have been there to get the full picture. Moral of the story...lesson learned...do NOT put double sided tape on anything unless you want it to stay forever!
That little room is still there, however, sad and empty now, as STROCO has moved on to bigger, more modern facilities. I still go to the little old building to clean, and often times I remanence about all the good fun times spent there. The company remains the same in a lot of ways, however, growth does sometimes bring changes. It is still family oriented, Dixie Bell still can be seen from time to time along with her little sister, Lulu Bird. People still care about each other. Kris and Keri are always around when you need to talk or just need help with anything. I no longer work in The Nut House, or the Assembly Department, at least not on a daily basis. I have been in Inventory Control for the last several years and love my job. I have an amazing partner to work with named Bree! She is most definitely an asset to the Inventory department. Helps in anyway she possibly can. It is a very busy place on most days, and we find ourselves running to and fro, climbing ladders, pulling parts, staging jobs, filling pick list orders, and so much more! I couldn't do it without her! She is just another Blessing to me.
As the days, weeks, and months, pass by, I feel elated and sad at the same time. My time left here at STROCO is numbered as I move into my last year or so and stare at retirement down the road. I still do not have an exact date, but I know it has to be closer than it has been! Oh, I'm looking forward to kicking back, sleeping later, playing in the dirt, and spending time with my husband and family, but I know I'm going to miss this place tremendously. I thank God often that He sent me to that job interview over 11 years ago . I thank Him daily for bosses like Kris and Keri. I thank Him for the opportunity to know great friendship. To work in an environment that pushes you to be the best you can be and has faith in you when you even doubt yourself. So, as those lazy days get closer I pray nothing but Blessings upon Blessings to Kris, Keri, Vince, the entire STROCO team. Special thank you to Lora for being my friend and all the laughs we've shared. Reminds me of a song I once heard years ago...goes something like this
Seasons change, days go by
People come, and people go.
Though our paths, lead us away
Again we'll meet someday, I know.
I owe you so much, my Dear Friends,
For all those treasured times.
You've made me a better person,
Thanks for being in my life
STROCO MANUFACTURING COMPANY Just want you to know that when that last day comes, I will miss you and I will never forget you!
Editors note:
I started writing this story a year or so back, when I was just thinking about retirement in the future. Time has a way of changing things in the most unusual ways. First of all, our little friends Dixie Bell and Lulu Bird have both crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. But a few weeks ago, STROCO team welcomed a new little furry friend named Georgy Ray. Soooo cute!
The pandemic hit, and out of all of that bad, came some good. The housing market boomed! We were able to sell our house recently above and beyond what we ever expected, making it possible for me to retire sooner than I thought possible. So here I am 3 days out. My last day will be on June 18th 2021. We will be moving back to Southeast MO soon after to finish out this last chapter of our lives. Hopefully with a lot of visiting, fishing, sleeping late, playing in the dirt, and just swinging in the porch swing. So, again to any STROCO friends that read this story, I love you and I'm so thankful to have worked with you! I will indeed miss you! To other friends, I hope you get to experience a great place to work and go to everyday like I did. It makes getting up at 3:15 A.M. a lot easier when you love your job and the people you work with. Hugs!
