I'm sure many of you had one-off jobs that paid you in cash, but ever have a regular job, where they took out taxes and social security and such and paid you in cash?

I worked at a small independent custard stand from about 1972-1979, full time in summers and part time during the school year, less than 10 employees tops, and we got paid weekly in cash. 10 employees, not a big deal. But the owner paid every bill in cash. All the delivery people got paid in cash. They hated it. Some companies required them to immediately return to the office if they got paid in cash. He didn't take credit cards or checks and didn't have or use either. He paid his mortgage in cash. We got a pay stub (hand written) that showed the taxes deducted and cash.

My dad worked for a fairly large company, several hundred employees, A. B. Dick (they made memeograph machines) in Niles Illinois, and they got paid weekly, in cash. You'd get a pay stub and then line up outside where a few Brinks trucks would take your stub and pay you in cash. Note, this was not a check. If you didn't turn it in then and there, you couldn't deposit it at a bank or go to another Brinks location. You'd have to wait until the following week when they showed up again. They were always accompanied by a couple Niles Police cars, not just some security guards. People would go in shifts of about every 15 minutes every Friday and get their pay money. This happened until about 1963 I believe. My dad said that when they switched over to issuing checks, there was a major uproar and the workers almost went on strike over it. They liked the system the way it was.

How about you?

Joe (joemagiera at ameritech dot net)
[email protected]