Let’s continue on with the theme used in last week’s column. Again, we’ll rely in part on the article, &uot;Jobs of the Past We May Never See Again.&uot; by Clancy Strock which was in the October 2002 issue of Reminisce Extra magazine.

One job the author mentioned really had its ups and downs. This was his humorous way to highlight the once important job of elevator operator.

There was a time when most elevators in department stores and office buildings had human operators. These were the folks who had firm control of the elevators’ trips between the floors.

In the department stores the operators were sometimes told to stop at each floor and give a quick summary of the merchandise available at this location. (&uot;Sixth floor, ladies ready-to-wear, kitchenware, furniture and toys.&uot;) However, on most elevators the operator seemed to have two comments. One was, &uot;Floor, please,&uot; and the other was, &uot;Watch your step while exiting.&uot; The last part came from the operators who had difficulty lining up the floors of the elevators with various landings.

Today, we’re all qualified to be temporary elevator operators.

Another job Strock featured was the telephone operator who made the connections between individuals and companies with her switchboard. Improvements in our communications systems have eliminated this once rather prestigious occupation.

Other occupations of the past mentioned in this article include the local baker, neighborhood butcher, bowling alley pin setter, door-to-door sales people (that’s a real plus for more modern times), service station (shade tree) mechanic, shoe shine person, and even the newsboy who sold newspapers at his favorite corner. (&uot;Extra, extra, our team wins a game!&uot;)

Some folks still doing these jobs are &uot;as rare as the ivory-billed woodpecker,&uot; according to the author of this article.

To close off this column, I’d like to mention another job of the past which wasn’t mentioned in Strock’s article. This was the position known as the depot or station agent.

About five or six decades ago every railroad depot had a man in charge who handled passenger ticket sales, freight business, made sure the train engineers passing by the depot got their orders (received by the agent via telephone or telegraph), plus other now nearly forgotten duties.

Here in Albert Lea there were three depots: Minneapolis and St. Louis (M. & St. L.), Milwaukee and Rock Island – and each one had a busy agent. These three depots are still part of the local nostalgic scenery, but they’re being used for other purposes, including a liquor store and a credit union operation.

I’ve known several railroad station agents in the past. One of them was assigned to a M. & St. L depot in a town north of Albert Lea. He kept telling anyone who had to listen that he had a job which was boring with very little work involved. Finally, a few folks told him to quit and go get a real job involving hard labor. And that’s exactly what he finally did.

Another agent I knew was a fellow member of a U.S. Army unit and a real &uot;goof off.&uot; After being discharged, he went back to the railroad and was assigned to be the depot agent at a station in a town near Mankato. He didn’t have too much to do except handle two or three trains a day. As a result, he made a bar across the street from the depot his favorite hangout. To make sure he was available for telephone calls, he rigged the station’s phone to really ring loud. Then he would run back across the street to answer the phone. Local folks went to the bar first to see him if they had any business with the railroad.

In time, the railroad firms had declining business conditions and phased out as many of the depot agents as possible. Then for few a years there was another job of the past known as the traveling agent. He handled duties based on several communities.

Now the position of depot agent, or even traveling agent, is really as rare as the ivory-billed woodpecker.

Tribune feature Ed Shannon’s column appears Fridays in the Tribune.