Les Olson Co

Description

In 1929, as the great depression was just beginning to take hold, Les Olson, then 14 years old, was enjoying his first week of high school. During the school's opening assembly, he was pulled aside and informed that his father had just died of a sudden heart attack. With a mother and two sisters at home, Les assumed the responsibility for the family's support, never again to return to school.Jobs were difficult to find, young Les managed to secure a position as an errand boy for ZCMI for which he was paid $50 per month and considering the state of the economy, he was very grateful for the privilege of having any job at all. Each month for 4 years he would faithfully turn his paycheck over to his mother, keeping for himself only a small amount of spending money.By the age of 42, Les, who was now the manager of ZCMI's office equipment department, was married to his sweetheart Reva Parry, and together they were the very proud parents of 12 beautiful, and hungry children. Les realized that his large family needed more than his current employment could provide so one evening he quietly announced around the dinner table that he had quit his job to start a family business. All 12 children were invited to get their piggy banks and "buy-in" to the new venture. As they dumped their coins on the table, Reva carefully wrote down each child's investment, for a grand total of $63.

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