My sister, Elaine and I don’t remember Haeger being part of our memories, it was our life.
Everyone in our family worked there and that is all we ever knew.
Grandma and our Aunt started working there in the late 40s. We would go with Grandpa to pick her up after work. We would wait on Carroll Street for the bell to ring, knowing she would be coming out the doors. We also went on the tours a couple of times and received a clay baby Jesus.
E.K. Kaelke was the manager then and was still there when my husband, Bill and I started in the 60s. He retired in the early 70s and Larry Gillenwater became manager. My mother-in-law and sister also started in the late 60s. Our daughter, Lori started working in the showroom when she was 16 on weekends.
There were a lot of families working there, often 2 and 3 generations at the same time. Early Christmas parties included the children and each child received a gift from Santa. Later, award banquets included a dinner and a band for dancing.
