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Mark Lewis posted a condolence
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
I worked with Rosie at Mountain States Wholesale from the Fall of 1968 until it closed in early 1981. I have so many memories of Rosie and it's hard to believe that it's been almost 40 years. I had hoped that others who knew Rosie during that time would post remembrances but, sadly, most of those people are gone now. I was 19 when I first met Rosie and I know there are still some people around who knew Rosie then - but, probably not many.
I started working part- time in the warehouse while I was attending Boise College. I repaired pallets, salvaged damaged goods and swept floors (with a broom). If there was anyone lower on the pecking order I'm not sure who it would have been. Soon after I started I had some sort of question or problem, probably with my payroll check. When I asked my boss he said " Well, you'll have to talk to Rosie Williams". When I went into the office and politely (I thought) inquired of Mrs. Williams she let me know right away that she was "Rosie" not Mrs. Williams. Rosie was nice that way with everyone. She could deal with the President of Albertsons down to the new kid in the warehouse - and make all of them feel important.
I soon graduated to being the "gopher" for the warehouse and the office. I got sent on all kinds of errands and I loved it. It was easy duty and the warehouse had a brand new '68 Chevy pickup. If what I was doing involved money or a check I always got it from Rosie. The most regular errand was picking up the cigarette tax stamps. I would get the check and then deliver the stamps back to Rosie so she could record the serial numbers. Then she would supervise the stamps being put away in the vault, in perfect order oldest to newest.
Rosie was the keeper of the vault. I could never figure out why it was such a huge vault. I was probably at least 8' by 10' and had a huge and heavy full size door. I've seen smaller vaults in banks and credit unions. That building was built for Mountain States so they must have done it on purpose but I could never figure out why. We didn't ever have much cash around and the cigarette stamps and the accounting ledgers would have fit easily in a much smaller safe. Despite Rosie's efforts the vault had a tendency to accumulate a lot of "stuff". Whenever someone had something they didn't know what to do with the "go to" was to always put it in the vault. Luckily for the perpetrators, Rosie's desk faced away from the vault or they would never have gotten away with it. Every so often she would organize a purge and get rid of all the junk and make all the guilty partys promise not to do that again.
After I started in the office, in 1970, my desk was across from the door to the vault. I must have seen Rosie open and close the vault dozens if not hundreds of times. First thing in the morning she would open it up and haul out all the huge ledgers that she used all day. It was a big heavy door and Rosie was not a large person. She would work the combination and then brace her left foot against the outer door frame, then grasp the handle with both hands and pull as hard as she could. At night it was the reverse - she would haul all the ledgers back and firmly close the door. Then she would give it good bump with her left hip, close the handle (unless she had to give it another bump) and spin the combination. In later years I was one of the "spares" that could open the vault if Rosie wasn't there. But, if Rosie was on duty, opening the vault was definitely part of her schedule.
In the fall of 1974 I bought an old house in South Boise. I was pretty nervous about it, that $22,000.00 mortgage kept me awake at night. It was all pretty straightforward but Rosie and Cal helped me out if I had questions and convinced me that I was doing the right thing. Soon after I bought it I had my first crisis, a leaking toilet. This was before home inspections and I knew it leaked when I bought it but it got worse quickly. The wax ring was bad and the floor and floor joists were beginning to deteriorate. To make matters worse it was the only bathroom! I asked Rosie (and I think she talked to Cal) and they recommended a guy to fix it. I left the back door unlocked, he took up the toilet, replaced the subfloor, replaced the vinyl and reset and connected the toilet all while I was at work. He left the bill on the table and locked the door. I don't recall what it cost but I could afford it so it must have been pretty reasonable. I mailed him a check and I did not even meet him until several years later when he did an addition to the same house.
The company Christmas parties were the big annual event at Mountain States and Rosie was heavily involved in the planning and execution. All of the grocery and non-foods buyers received various samples and premiums during the year and they were turned over to the Christmas Party Committee. It could be all sorts of things from cases of canned goods, to toys, bikes, ice chests, bottles of liquor, lawn chairs to portable bassinets. These were used as door prizes and were supposed to be random drawings. There were lots of prizes and almost everyone got something. Sometimes the prizes seemed to be not so "random" like when our LDS controller received a bottle of bourbon. I'm pretty sure Rosie had something to do with my winning a portable bassinet the first Christmas after I was married.
Dancing was a big part of the Christmas Party and it was surprising how well many of those people could dance. The party was usually at the then Red Lion Riverside and we had live music and a large dance floor. Rosie and Cal were in a class by themselves and it was a pleasure to just watch them. I loved to dance and I danced with Rosie a few times but it always put a lot of pressure on me. Thankfully, she was a superior dancer and always made her partner look good.
It started before my time at Mountain States and I didn't ever find out how it started but Rosie, Carolyn Freeman and Juanita Smith often, but not always, called each other by their last names. That was fairly typical for many of the men but not the women. And I don't recall any of the other women doing it. Rosie would say "Well, you'll have to talk to Freeman about that".
Rosie, Carolyn and Juanita tried to go to coffee break together but it often didn't work. Juanita was on the order desk and sometimes couldn't get off the phone. I can almost hear Carolyn hollering at Juanita " Smith, get off the phone it's almost time for coffee!".
Rosie and I and a group of others worked on two different Mountain States reunions. The planning meetings were almost as much fun as the reunions and often went much longer than originally anticipated. The stories and memories and the gossip we hadn't known before really made them entertaining. With her duties in HR and payroll Rosie knew EVERYBODY (even all the non-foods people who were clear across town) so we could always count on her for good information.
Rosie was the type of person that you always intended to keep in touch with but of course it didn't happen. It's not surprising I guess how much working together draws people together and how quickly that can go away. I last saw Rosie in the early 1990s in Emmett of all places. My son and I had gone to a classic car show and stopped in at McDonald's for breakfast. Rosie was there and we had a really good visit. Luckily for my son, Rosie had somewhere to be or the visit could have gone on for a long time at the expense of the car show.
Rosie was a wonderful coworker (we didn't have team members at that time) but she was an even better friend. I always felt that
I was lucky to have started my working years at Mountain States. There were many good people and good examples of the way to do business that served me well over time. Rosie was one of the best and most memorable.
l
lynettemwilliams@gmail.com Posted Oct 31, 2023 at 7:48 PM
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Candy Salvato posted a condolence
Sunday, November 17, 2019
I met Rosie through the Assistance League. She was always smiling, cheerful...we golfed together too, much fun. The world is a sadder place without her....
Candy Salvato
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Carole lit a candle
Friday, November 15, 2019
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Eternal rest grant unto Rosie, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.
Carole and Simon
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The family of Rosalina Williams uploaded a photo
Friday, November 8, 2019
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