(Youth 8) Work at Pomona Tile Plant, also Guayule.

My work experience before going in the Army included working on a surveying crew in a Federal Government experiment in growing guayule for latex production and baller and kiln operator at the Pomona Tile Plant.

I have posted about the guayule work at Guayule. This was in the Arvin-Lamont area of Kern County, California. I think the listing of surveying work on my work experience may have led the Army to place me in the Combat Engineers.

I joined the many Monsons who had worked or were working at the Pomona Tile Plant. The Plant had a contract to make many soup bowls for the US Navy. They were fairly large heavy bowls. Later when I was in the Army on troopships I used the bowls.

My job was baller. The clay looked like a large toothpaste shaped portions. I would tear off some clay and pat it in my hands to form a ball. (I was a baller) Then I would throw the ball of clay into a mold. The potter would put the mold into a potters wheel and form the bowl. Then off to the kiln for firing.

Later I worked on a kiln. Carts of tile with unfired glaze were pulled slowly through a kiln (very hot). The trip would take 12 hours or so. The tile came out with fired glaze. I loaded the carts at the entrance and then I would unload carts at the exit. You had to keep up or you would have tile being damaged. I can remember working the midnight shift. It was just me and the factory.

During this time I lived in a one room apartment and had a car. It was a later model than a Model A. I could not tell you anything about the car except it was a Chevy looking sedan. I was 16 years old.