Katherine Nelson had a wreck on the way to work and decided that wasn't worth it. She quit. She just didn't need the hassle. But don't "tsk tsk" about a lost work ethic or lost company loyalty. She worked at the same place for the better part of 64 years, since 1934.
That's when Katherine Smith graduated as valedictorian of her senior class. She was headed to a local college with a scholarship.
Then Edward P. Bessenbacher, founder of the Tyrrel- Bessenbacher Co., a commercial credit collections company, called the high school and asked for its best typist. It was the depression. Times were hard. Her family struggling, and the $10 a week was too good to pass up.
Over the years, Katherine married and had 5 children in 6 years. The Bessenbachers made special concessions to keep her on board. One year, she worked only two weeks, while the Bessenbachers went on vacation. And during World War II, the business slowed, and she only worked part-time, but she stayed with the company.
She reflected, "I had zillions of offers for jobs over the years. I served on a lot of committees, attended lots of conferences, and met a lot of people who offered me jobs." Jean Bessenbacher, an officer of the corp., commented, "Katherine could run the whole office. She knew what we were going to say before we said it."
The company, now named The Bessenbacher Co., and led by third generation Bessenbachers, moved an hour's drive from Katherine's home. She cut back to three days a week because of the commute. Then came the accident.
These days Katherine reads stories about job hopping, downsizing and the art of writing resumes and doesn't know how to relate. Her work experience was so different. She now is drawing on her pension from the company, and the Bessenbachers are "still covering my hospitalization." Asked to summarize what was good about her 64 years with the same job, she muses, "Well, at first, I just felt lucky to have a job. But then I made a lot of good friends along the way."
"But," she adds with vigor, "I'm retired now!"
