L. L. Morriss

03 ~ Church and Home Life in East Tyler, Texas, 2

As I matured I had experiences that helped me find out the depth of my ability. I used to be fascinated by the traveling medicine show that came to our community. They were set up under a tree where they had entertainment, and in the intermission they attempted to sell their cure-all medicines. Some time later under that same tree I tried my business wings by starting a cold drink stand featuring Nehi sodas, a new drink which had just come on the market. Before long I realized I was not an efficient merchant. Next I saw an opportunity to sell Eskimo Pies. I used a thermos jug with dry ice and packed the Eskimo Pies in the jug. It seemed to be a good paying job. I made 20 cents for every dozen Eskimo Pies I sold. I well remember the hot steam of the sidewalk as I walked barefooted over the streets of Tyler with that little jug of precious Eskimo Pies.

~ One hot day I paused in front of the local Acavia Theater, which advertised in big bold letters, “Cool as a Cave.” I stood there without going inside, allowing the sweet, cool breeze to sweep over me. In this same theater I first heard a “talking” movie. I saw “The Jazz Singer,” Al Jolson, and marveled that it looked as if they were real characters speaking and you didn’t have to read the script on the screen. During the news presentation after the feature I heard President Hoover speak for the first time.

~ What a time the “Roaring Twenties” was turning out to be! My Eskimo Pie business didn’t last long. One problem was that I didn’t make much off of a dozen Eskimo Pies. The other was my tendency to eat my profit, since I enjoyed cooling off with an Eskimo Pie. Later I delivered newspapers and sold magazines. I carried a wonderful little bag on my shoulder that said Grit. Popular then, Grit magazine was published in Pennsylvania. I also worked as a soda jerk and made deliveries by bicycle for the Hillside Pharmacy. Later I worked for a dry cleaning company and got a percentage of my pickups.

~ One day my real opportunity came in the form of a contest hosted by radio station KGKB in Tyler. They had a contest called “Opportunity Knocks.” The idea was to be assigned a subject and to deliver it extemporaneously. I must have wowed them because opportunity knocked loud for me, and I won the contest. I became a staff announcer at KGKB Tyler. This was an enjoyable time; I met many wonderful people including Jack Dempsey. The famous boxer came by and I was able to get his autograph. I enjoyed it more than the people who hired me, because one day I had much trouble announcing the word “lingerie.” I had grown up with boys and lingerie was a foreign word for me.

~ My radio announcing experience led my church, East Tyler Baptist, to invite me to announce for them on the regular Sunday morning broadcast. What a joy it was to use my talent in a spiritual endeavor. I got up early on Sunday mornings and went to the radio station. Air conditioning was not common, so I enjoyed standing in front of the air conditioning console on Sunday mornings. This privilege the Lord had given to announce for religious broadcast led to some embarrassing moments which I needed to experience. I was a real “cut-up” in the high school study hall. Mrs. Kirkenwitz one day rebuked me by calling me to the front of class saying, “This young man announces for religious broadcast and shouldn’t be stirring up trouble in study hall.” It was a humiliating experience that I never forgot.

~ One of the most interesting jobs of my youth was in my teens. I had the opportunity to sell Wearever Aluminum Ware. Did I say sell it? I meant attempt to sell it! I had a real go-getter for a district manager who taught me all the tricks of the trade and gave me the speech I was to make–such as, if the kitchen sink had digestive organs it would be the most healthy member of the family. He was stressing the fact that we throw most of the vitamins and nutritious elements of food down the kitchen sink. The idea was to cook with Wearever and preserve all the wonderful vitamins and ingredients.

~ The problem in my case was that you had to have dinner parties, invite people and serve them a delicious meal with Wearever. I had to buy all the groceries, the roast, onions and carrots, and not only cook them but give my speech at the table after the meal. I invited relatives and friends who couldn’t afford to buy the set. I went into debt and counted that a failure, but in reality something came out of that salesmanship that helped me the rest of my life. I was required by my district manager to keep a little day book listing the appointments. I have that book to this day and also have used similar books each year of my life in whatever endeavor I was accomplishing.