One of my longest running periods of work was with The Graham Group in downtown Des Moines. I started there early in 1988, working until October 31, 1995 when I moved back to Corning.
The job I applied for was a newly created position. Their head bookkeeper had been complaining there was too much work for one person. She wanted them to hire an assistant. Instead, the chief financial officer decided to lighten her work load by separating the bookkeeping for the medical buildings into a new job. Mine. He told me I would be hired to work full time even though there wouldn't be enough work to keep me busy full time for quite awhile.
Graham Group was a real estate, property management, property development company. There was also a construction company, a millwork company and an interior design company - all part of The Graham Group.
At the time, their main focus was building and managing medical buildings. I had sets of books for each one - Professional Arts in Dubuque, Mercy Medical Plaza and Methodist Medical Plaza in Des Moines. They were in the process of building Methodist Medical Plaza II and III and Mercy East at the downtown hospitals. Eventually I would also have the books for Mercy West Health Center on 116th in Clive.
The first few months working there were boring. There is nothing worse than not having enough work to do and trying to look busy. My boss even gave me permission to read some of his books. That is when I read Lee Iacocca's autobiography. One of the Graham Construction guys wanted me fired. He would walk by my office and see me reading, then complain because I wasn't working.
When the assistant to the Construction bookkeeper quit, they gave me the Interiors books to do. By the time I left, I was doing all the Medical Plaza books, Graham Interiors and Graham Millwork. I was busy and I loved it. Oh, yes, John Graham's part time bookkeeper retired and I took over doing his little bit of book work. By then he was mostly retired, coming in to the office only for brief times. He and Barbara spent summers at their home near Grand Marais, MN and winters in Twentynine Palms, CA.
One of my first tasks when I began working there was picking out all new office accessories and a new chair. I did not have to worry about budget limitations. I could order anything I wanted. I tried several styles of office chairs, everything from the small stenographer's style to the big high backed executive ones. This adjustable, swivel, brown wool upholstered one fit me the best.
Somehow the practice of taking one's chair with them when they left The Graham Group got started. Not everyone did, of course, but Joan, the head bookkeeper took hers and Sue, the construction company bookkeeper took hers and so did I.
My little brown chair went with me to The Adams County Free Press and Midwest Products. Then it became my home office chair. I think it will last as long as I do. The only thing replaced on it was the roller feet about ten years ago when one of them began loosing ball bearings.
Having the right chair when you are sitting all day long at a desk can make a big difference. I'm glad I got the chair.
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