When I was 15

[carleb]

I had a good life, but summers were spent hauling square baled hay, mowing pasture, building fence, etc. because that is what I was expected to do and there wasn't normally any pay involved, except maybe $20.00 for weekends. Didn't have any car because Dad said cars and boys were generally the ruination of a boy. I could always take the family car to town on weekends, but never anything I could call my own. When I got out of HS, I started working for wages and have been doing that ever since. But, like I said, it was a good life. Girls must have been involved there somewhere, cause I've had two wives and two kids!!

 

[Fatboy Joe]

My mom owned a restaurant. I spent 10 to 12 hours a day working the grill. When there was free time, I spent it fixing fences and other do what you are told stuff around my grandma's place.

 

[71buickfreak]

I worked at BJ's TasteeFreeze (horrible name!) flippin burgers and serving up frozen milk on a cone. The owner was a nice guy but a bit of a dick as he liked to hire 14-15 years old and pay them $2/hour because in Colorado, you could get a job at 14 for less than minimum and he claimed we got tips (all summer I got one .25 tip). But it made me enough money to buy my own fireworks. I took a break from working until I turned 16.

 

[subprep]

partied like a rock star. Went to the lake, bent over to lay a towel down on the beach and threw my back out of place so badly that my left leg was 1.5" shorter than my right. I still have back problems to this day, pretty much ruined my summer :-/

 

[Surveyor1653]

I was still in Explorers that summer. We were sponsored by HHC 1/20 SFG in Hunstville, AL. Our sponsors took us to the District camp for four days where they had recreated a (very) abbreviated RECONDO school for us, thanks to a VERY salty CSM. We dragged rubber duck rifles through those woods, over the bluffs on top of the mountain, and across that lake in RB15s. We killed, cleaned, and cooked our first meal to earn the right to eat MREs the rest of the weekend. We shot M16s, M60s, and M9s. Later that summer I worked in the salvage yard owned by my best friend's family. His uncle was retiring from the Army and wrapping up over 25 years in EOD and Army Ordnance. Hak was the primary inspiration for some of my future endeavors. I still have the EOD Crab he gave me that was hand-embroidered for him by a Vietnamese woman. I didn't earn a dime that summer but I made some of the best and most consequential memories of my life. Hak was later killed in a car crash as a Reserve Madison County Deputy, while pursuing a suspect.

 

[Nighthawk]

I lived in California, I wrote a letter to my uncle in Maysville asking to come work for him that the Summer. I came to Oklahoma to first work for my Uncle in Maysville picking up rocks, straightening metal, mowing his lawn, and shooting mice in the barn, until he did not have any more work for me to do. Then I hauled hay for about a week, then worked as a Broom Corn Jonny cutting broom corn from 6:00 AM till 6:00 PM for $1.25 an hour, and making enough for my plane ride home plus some spending money. I learned a lot cutting broom Corn, I learned how to chew tobacco, and drink water at the same time, how to keep my cigarettes dry while working, and flirt with the Broom Corn Sally's. It was hot miserable work, I always looked forward to a thunderstorm because it would cool the day off some. By the way I did not smoke or chew tobacco until that Summer. I had a hard time getting use to the heat at first coming from temperatures of around 79 degrees to Oklahoma that was 100 +. Another plus, I got to experience M80's, cherry bombs, firecrackers, roman candles, bottle rockets which were all illegal where I lived in California. I also learned how to run a trotline, and catch the biggest catfish I had ever caught . I would have to say it was quite a learning experience for me.

 

[120 Acres]

I started washing dishes on weekends and all summer long once school was out from age 13 (my parents Taco Hut).

Bought my 1966 Mustang when I was 14 and couldnt even drive it for another 2 years.

I pretty much had all my hunting, fishing experience before the age of 13, but there was a lot more to come in the following years.

 

[Cohiba]

Worked with my grandad over the summer.

We...

Cut up oil pipeline my dad got by buying leases and stacked it.

Ran a Cat bulldozer.

Hauled hay.

Worked and checked on cattle and horses.

Drank beer while hauling hay with my grandad and cousins..heck, he bought it.

Welded when needed.

Fixed fence.

and what ever else needed to be done.



Oh...on Sunday afternoons...after church...THEN..I got to go fishing. If there was daylight and two free hands..I was put to work. Sometimes we stopped for lunch..90% of the time we didn't.

My grandad' s philosophy. ..plenty of time to get caught up on lunch in tbe nursing home. Plenty of time to get caught up on sleep when you're dead.

 

[MCVetSteve]

I detailed cars (suburbs near-ish to DC) and mowed lawns. $20/mow, $35/mow, spread grass seed and weed killer. Detailing cars was where I made a killing though, $50 hand wash, dry, and wax; $70 for the above and vacuum interior and spray smell good; complete detail included above and leather treatment and armor all inside, wheel polish, rubber trim cleaning, and on and on. That was $150. But people paid it cuz I came to them, my services were convenient. Told em all I need was a water spigot and a couple (sometimes several hours) where their car was not leaving. On average it took me about 3 1/2 hours for a complete hand wash and wax and full interior/exterior detail. But I typically did 1 car Friday evening and 2 cars a day on Saturday and Sunday. Mon-Thurs I mowed at least one lawn a day. It earned me money and kept me busy enough that I never got to spend it. Kept me outta trouble too.

 

[Lurker66]

Im sure yall are seeing a trend. 15y/o and working. Being outdoors. Being a young MAN.

Its more than guns we have in common.