Obsolete Occupations

[St.Ignatz]

Fireman (Railroad)
On the steam locomotives he kept the fires stoked and monitored the water level of the boiler.



The job of brakeman still exists. On some railroads they're now called assistant conductors.



Also add coal trimmer to the list. The coal trimmer was stationed in the coal bunkers and his job was to transfer the coal to wheelbarrows for distribution to the stokers.

It was the fireman that stoked or "fired" the hog then he morphed into a sort of mechanic to reset.bypass or troubleshoot diesel locomotives. Brakemen still exist and are called such but are seldom seen. No hack anymore just a "FRED" as the crews call it or "fricking rear end device".
Tom D.

 

[St.Ignatz]

Oh yeah a machine at each stop sells the tickets.

Here in Philadelphia we still have trolleys or trams as well as trackless trolleys or trolley coaches and an interurban. Growing up the city trolleys and suburban trolleys and interurban had a Motorman and Conductor. Now the motorman does it all.

 

[St.Ignatz]

How about SST mechanic. Imagine starting a career with the inception and ending with the retirement of a specific device or machine.
Tom D.

 

[sixties.nut]

How about SST mechanic. Imagine starting a career with the inception and ending with the retirement of a specific device or machine.
Tom D.

And they had much better safety stats than the Zepplin moormen had !

 

[John in Covina]

In Australian cities in the 50s it was still quite common for some areas to be un-sewered.

Hence, we had the "Dunny-man" - "dunny" being slang for a toilet (especially one separate from the main house - whose job it was to run the back lanes collecting the dunny cans and depositing their contents in a truck.

It is not a job there is any call for these days! One had to have little sense of smell, be strong and have very good footing to shoulder a full can negotiate a cobble-stoned laneway in the early hours of the morning.

In some areas of the US the waste from a home still goes into what is called a cesspool. From there the natural biological action broke down the waste and the water seaped into the surronding ground. Over time the bioaction and seaping could slow down or stop and the Cesspool pump guys would come and do a similar service an drain the cesspool into a big tanker truck.

The old days they refered to not the tanker but the wagon as a "Honeywagon" P-U!

 

[rumblefish]

Fireman (Railroad)
On the steam locomotives he kept the fires stoked and monitored the water level of the boiler.

Along the same lines...
Fireman and Stationary Engineer as he would relate to buildings.
A Fireman would feed the boilers for building heat, and a Stationary Engineer would maintain building temperatures through various manually operated controls. Newer oil and/or gas fired boilers do everything automatically, except reset after a flame failure or when limit controls are tripped. Now I see these positions combined as one, and a Fireman/Stationary Engineer (also called Boiler Operator on-site or a Mechanical/HVAC Serviceman if contracted off-site) is expected to maintain/repair the boilers and all of their periphery including the controls and motors. I was told, part of a buildings maintenance crew included a Stationary Engineer whose job it was exclusively to watch over the boilers. My crew has to has to change light bulbs too.

 

[rumblefish]

What about Truant Officers? Are they still around?

 

[John in Covina]

Here in LA you will here about Truant Officers occasionally. Although, bepending on the work load, most regular police would stop and question children that were out on a school day and contact the local truant officer to come get them.

I seem to recall that in some cities (NYC) you had the custodial engineer who was licensed to operate the boiler. My Godfather was licensed and did so for his career in a public school in NYC.

 

[Marcus]

I didn't read the article, but I saw someone commented on Usher. There is a small theater in my town that has Ushers. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but before every movie you watch there, a real live person in uniform comes down the front of the theater and welcomes you, tells you what you are going to watch and let's you know that they are there to assist with anything you may need.

We've always thought that was great touch that we've never seen at any of the bigger theater chains. This ia first run movie theater too, recently revamped with new projectors and sound system.

It's Ultra Star Cinemas and I know of at least two of them.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Here in LA you will here about Truant Officers occasionally. Although, bepending on the work load, most regular police would stop and question children that were out on a school day and contact the local truant officer to come get them.

Some school districts are all year round. Which means that instead of summer vacation it's spread out throughout the year so not all the kids are in school at any given time.

 

[appy]

My grandmother worked at the telephone company back in the 50's and my mother was a typesetter in the 80's, but it was done with these huge computers and stuff... My aunt was a secretary for the same company.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but, soda jerkin' is nearly a dead obsolete occupation.

The kids at some of the surviving soda fountains just don't have what it takes to be a real soda jerk. :eusa_doh: I had to tell the soda jerk at Fair Oaks yesterday how a lemon coke tasted! Now, that's bad! lol

 

[LizzieMaine]

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but, soda jerkin' is nearly a dead obsolete occupation.

The kids at some of the surviving soda fountains just don't have what it takes to be a real soda jerk. :eusa_doh: I had to tell the soda jerk at Fair Oaks yesterday how a lemon coke tasted! Now, that's bad! lol

Blame modern fountains -- nowadays the syrup mixes automatically with the soda water, and the operator doesn't need to know how to do anything but hold a paper cup under the tap. If there are are any fountains left where the clerk pumps the syrup manually into a glass -- from a reservoir filled from a jug, a can, or a keg -- and then adds the soda water and ice and stirs up the mixture before serving it, I want to know where it is so I can go spend the rest of my life sitting there drinking proper Cokes. I haven't seen a fountain like this anywhere since the early '70s.

 

[Tailor Tom]

My little bit....

Here in Minneapolis we still have one building with an Elevator Operator...not full time any longer though. I used to work in the building, it was always the most dignified way to be taken to the proper floor. And always a believable "Good Morning" with each ride too. Loved the elegance of the pearl gray gloves she wore.

I live near a great Deco Movie House, and they retain dress code for their Ushers yet. Very sweet.

I remember as a child, going to a small appliance repair shop ( ala Emmit's Fix it Shop in the Andy Griffith show) for small things, fixing the toaster, vacuum, or getting the blades/batteries replaced on Dad's "new fangled" electric razor.

While I am thinking of this...my own profession, Tailor, is on the brink too. A few truly gifted and talented tailors remain. But, a lot of "custom" shops are nothing more than sales people that farm everything out to job-shops (cut-trim-make) for the labor. And then hire help to do only the most basic alterations. Nothing is fully made in house.

Milliners are harder and harder to come by these days too.

And how about fabric dying? You used to be able to have clothes dyed to refresh its color or change it. You could even have your furniture dyed for a new look, to keep up with trends, etc.

 

[sixties.nut]

LizzieMaine

I haven't seen a fountain like this anywhere since the early '70s.

Have you ever looked at sodastream dot com ? I have friends who have this gadget and they swear by it, it's pretty economical and could be as close as your kitchen without the move!

I have the small gun type like you mentioned and just about everything dealing with it is a hassle, costs, setup, calibration, cleaning, etc. While it is better than retail soda, it's still a far cry from fountain soda.

 

[MPicciotto]

Gee with a real soda fountain then one could get a real Egg Cream. I'm just saying...

Matt

 

[Lone_Ranger]

In Aviation, we have lost crew to automation. The radio operator, navigator, and flight engineer positions are either gone, or on their way out.

 

[Atomic Age]

Blame modern fountains -- nowadays the syrup mixes automatically with the soda water, and the operator doesn't need to know how to do anything but hold a paper cup under the tap. If there are are any fountains left where the clerk pumps the syrup manually into a glass -- from a reservoir filled from a jug, a can, or a keg -- and then adds the soda water and ice and stirs up the mixture before serving it, I want to know where it is so I can go spend the rest of my life sitting there drinking proper Cokes. I haven't seen a fountain like this anywhere since the early '70s.

MacAlpine's in Phoenix is a real soda fountain. It was a drugstore/soda fountain that opened in 1928. I don't know for sure they mix the syrup for Cokes and such by hand (not even sure if you can still buy Coke syrup by itself anymore). However they do make things like egg creams and Phosphates. They serve Thrifty ice cream and have a jukebox from 1952 that actually plays 45s.

Oh they make a mean Reuben too.

 

[Shangas]

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but, soda jerkin' is nearly a dead obsolete occupation.

The kids at some of the surviving soda fountains just don't have what it takes to be a real soda jerk. :eusa_doh: I had to tell the soda jerk at Fair Oaks yesterday how a lemon coke tasted! Now, that's bad! lol

Check the previous couple of pages. I mentioned the Soda Jerk in one of them.

One occupation which I think is dead is the Railroad Time-Inspector.

From the 1890s until the 1970s, US. & Canadian railroads had to have time-inspectors; watchmakers whose job it was to service and check the times on all the railroad watches that were handed to them, to ensure that they were keeping accurate time. While we still have watchmakers, time-inspectors don't exist anymore.

 

[PrettyPaula]

My Grandmother only had one job in her life, she an Air Raid Warden during the Blitz's of WW2

Her husband, my late grandfather, was a Munitions Engineer and therefore wasnt called up.

My other grandfather was in the Army, posted to the Suez Canal area and he still to this day has a tan. He can also remember the man who did his first army tattoo when he was 15, he remembers what he wore, where it was and how long it took to be done, he is fascinated with my traditional tattoos.


We have Trams where i live, a modern electric tram but nevertheless it has conductors who sell and check tickets every time you board.



I will always remember the "pop man" who used to deliver glass bottles of cream soda, dandelion and burdock and cherry soda when i was younger to my grandmothers house, the old bottles used to be left outside with the milk bottles.

We also have a fish man who comes to the local social and working mens clubs with a large basket containing packages of shrimps, cockles, welks and mussels to buy and douse with vinegar and pepper. YUM!