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Sometimes arriving packages had to be opened with a company supplied carpet knife, which got me into trouble. First week I had the knife in my back pocket, the blade up and sticking out, and the boss lit into me like nobody ever had before. That was a no-no although I thought he over-did it. He was elderly had his desk opposite the door against the wall of this big rectangular shipping room, half of which was used to store stock on metal shelves.
The shipping room was large with a walk-in safe for all the diamonds and sapphire of which the needles were made. The front part of the room had the only desk that was opposite the door and was the bosses. The entry door with glass on top, was always locked and anybody coming or going had to buzz themselves out and be buzzed back in. The safe was just to the right of the door as you were coming in, maybe 40 feet long and 20 feet wide with a thick, heavy, steel, bank-like door. Generally there were anywhere from ten to fifteen woman working, usually filling orders of finished needles and packaging them. Most of these woman didn't need to work being housewives, but liked the spare change and something to do. They sat on a three level elevated platform to the right coming-in just past the safe. To the left coming in was was a long work table built into the wall which was my station and across the aisle was a long table with two women who did the postage for all the little packages sent over by the package packers.
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