One of the first jobs Gaskell had was working for Dillis Benson at a service station he had on East Main Street. He was paid one dollar a day. A second job he had was working at the rock quarry using a 16 pound sledge hammer to break up large rocks. Charlie also had a job working there using a sledge hammer. This may account for the fact they often settled their differences using those muscles they build up swinging a sledge hammer.

Christmas for the Ray kids sometimes included a stocking with peppermint candy or fruit, something they considered a wonderful treat. Little tin trucks from Young’s Variety Store were sometimes gifts the boys got. One year Sue remembers they each got a little brown paper bag with five pieces of peppermint candy in it. She also recalls a Christmas when she asked for Santa to bring her a little red rocking chair. Since they had a fire in the fireplace, she knew if Santa granted her wish, he would not be able to come down their chimney and would have to come in the front door. Sure enough that Christmas, Santa knocked at the door with the little red rocking chair for Sue, but it was really Charlie playing the part of Santa.

One Christmas, Gaskell remembers when he and Charles Lewis Bilbrey found a bag of oranges Lewis Bilbrey had hidden for his family for the holidays. They ate several of the oranges and then decided to taste of the icing on a cake Charles Lewis’ mother, Kate, had baked for Christmas. Instead of just tasting of the icing, they ended up eating all the icing off the cake. Having later lived in the same neighborhood as Lewis and Kate Bilbrey did when I was growing up, I can just imagine Mrs. Kate’s reaction when she found her cake after the icing was eaten! Gaskell said the first time he ate a piece of loaf bread was at the Bilbrey home, and he liked it so well, he ate several slices. His mother always had biscuits and cornbread for their family, so loaf bread was something new and he really liked the taste. But after Gaskell had eaten several slices, Lewis Bilbrey put a stop to that by saying, "Boy, don’t you know bread costs eleven cents a loaf!"

Sue told me most people assume she had it really rough being the only girl with six older brothers, but just the opposite was true. All her brothers really looked out and cared for their little sister. One of her favorite memories was a little green corduroy jumper and a white blouse that Charlie got for her just before she started to school. She said that was her very favorite outfit and she loved it dearly. Another memory Sue shared was asking to go to a Fourth of July celebration, even though she had no idea what that meant. She knew it must be something special, but really didn’t understand what it was about. Clifford said he would take her, but what he did was to walk down to the creek with her, tell her to pick up a rock and toss it in the creek, which she did, and then told her that was a Fourth of July celebration. She said she had always completely trusted all of her brothers, so she didn’t question Clifford about this at all, and never knew the difference for a long time.

Sue remembers waiting for Fred to return home on leave from the Marines one time. On this particular trip, he came home across a field, but Sue saw him long before he got near the house. She ran and told her mother Fred was home, but her mother didn’t think he was due in until the next day. Sue assured her mother it was Fred because he had a uniform on. She was right, it was Fred. One of the things Terry did after Fred got home was to pinch him on the neck. He said he heard that Marines were called "leathernecks" and he wanted to see if Fred had really become one after going in the service.

Terry shared some memories of working as a shoe shine boy on the square in Livingston when he was young. The cost for shining a pair of shoes was one nickel. Terry also worked at the Ritz Theater, as many young boys his age did. He said would always remember how caring and helpful Fred Rose, one of the owners of the Ritz, was during the time he worked there. He said that Fred really looked out for all the boys who worked there. Selling popcorn was another job he had at the Ritz. It regularly sold for a dime a bag, but Terry would often put it on sale two for a quarter and it sold better that way than at the regular price. Another job Terry had in his younger days was washing cars at the Ford garage for Aubrey McCormick. The charge for getting a car washed and cleaned thoroughly was $1.00. Terry was paid $25.00 a week while he worked there. Another memory Terry shared with me was a time Gaskell took him and Sue when they were both small to the Ritz Theater to see the movie "Snow White." That was a real treat for them.

Eulon Ray eventually bought a home on what is now Evans Street in Livingston. By that time, Jane Ray had a job with the Maynard family who owned Ideal Laundry. She worked there approximately twelve years. She would sometimes take blue jeans her children wore and press them there. Terry said because they were starched and pressed so well, he would have to run his arm down the legs before he could put them on. Both he and Sue said they just loved to wear those jeans their mother took to work with her to press. After Jane retired from the laundry, she helped out some at the Parkway Restaurant during the time Charlie and wife Mary Jo owned it. Two of Jane’s favorite customers who frequented the Parkway and loved to aggravate her there were Jack Pigg and Charlie Gentry. Jack was also known to pull pranks on Mary Jo. On one occasion, he ran the clock up an hour, and after preparing lunch that day, Mary Jo couldn’t figure out why no one showed up at the usual time to eat. But Jack knew.