Stopping by the “dry cleaners” the other day, I was fortunate to see Ethel Pearl Gardner who, like several others including myself, considered it our second home.

The “dry cleaners,” as it was referred to by those that worked there, was not only work but a place where lessons could be learned. Ethel Pearl, Aguilla Green, Liz Wilder and Valerie Webb were like sisters to me. Pearl and Aquilla were pressers, Liz worked in the front providing a friendly face to those who came in to drop off clothes, and Valerie is the only one still working there. We were like one great big happy family that had two sets of parents: my mom and dad and Hughie Wilder and Mrs. Dorothy Cherry. Whatever the four said was the gospel to all of us!

While Aguilla and Pearl were a few years ahead of me, I always did as they ask because they had the toughest job. Usually, to avoid working in the back where it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, I just hung out with Liz in the front checking in clothes. There was always something to be done if you worked for my dad. From fixing coat hanger guards to bagging clothes and seeing that they were placed on the racks in alphabetical order to checking clothes in kept you busy.

Saturday was our busiest day of the week, and Christmas was our busiest time of the year. On these two occasions and many other times ,we worked through lunch. It was a happy time when my dad would ask me to check with Aquilla, Pearl and Ms. Dorothy to see what they wanted for lunch. Liz would help me to make sure Hughie was taken care of because he was her father-in-law. We walked around the back and got orders from everyone. Usually we ordered from Bill’s hot dogs, Dairy Palace or The King Chicken, and the bags would be soaking but the food was always so good and plentiful. The girls had worked through lunch but we took five minutes to eat. My dad usually sat at the sewing table, and Hughie and I ate in the back were Hughie sat to eat.

On special days, my dad would tell me to go to Ted Day’s fish market and get a bushel of oysters. That was my favorite and Mr. Hughie’s also. With plenty of steam for the pressers, dad could steam the oysters in no time and they would pop right open making them easy to get out of the shell. This was mostly done for lunch in the winter when oysters were plentiful and their price was not as high as they are now. Between Daddy, Hughie and me, we could eat a whole bushel, and if any were leftover, Hughie would take them home to open for Mariah. This was a special lunch and women were not usually invited, but we would include them if necessary. Hughie kept his eye on the drink box because he did not want anyone to get a drink free, and that was usually me.

Pearl, Aquilla, Liz and Valerie were like sisters to me, and I miss not seeing them as often as I wish. We grew up together and suffered through the trials and tribulations that young people face but we always had Mrs. Dorothy, Hughie, Mom and Dad to ask for advice. That made growing up a little easier, and looking back now, we all had fun even if Aquilla, Pearl and Liz were to leave after I left for college. It was good to see Ethel Pearl, and I hope that I will see Aquilla and Liz in the future, and we can share our stories of working at the “dry cleaners.” They are still considered family by me and Rose Ann.

They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C.! The Original Washington!

— Harold Jr.

Harold Robinson Jr. is a native of Washington.