By Caden Eskelsen

Getting a job in the Mount Vernon area can be a hard task, so when there are available jobs for high schoolers they get taken faster than students can say, “Where do I apply?” Places like Gary’s and Ace Hardware employ many area students. Max Rechkemmer is one of those students with a job in town.

Rechkemmer, a senior, works at Ace Hardware with many of the students that walk the halls of MVHS including, David Hermsen-White, Kelsey Kosman, Jade Petersen, and Jack Ossenkop. Rechkemmer admits a hardware store job isn’t super eventful, especially week nights from 4-8, but working with classmates makes the fun moments that much more entertaining. “One time David spilled paint all over the floor, five gallons or so,” Rechkemmer said. When Hermsen-White was asked of the incident he said it was a pack of four paint gallon buckets. One of the buckets was saved while the other lost too much paint to be salvaged.

There are many advantages to working in town, one is being able to work more hours because no time is spent commuting. Rechkemmer can work after school from 3:45-8 PM and still get home at a decent hour.

Rechkemmer said that there are regulars that have been coming into Ace as long as a pair of ancient shredder scissors have been around in the sale bin. Some of those regulars include Nick Walton of Walton Construction and John and Charlie Engelbrecht’s father, Jim. Working at the register, “helps with communication skills,” said Rechkemmer. He has learned to converse with those longtime customers and help them with what they need at Ace.

While working at Ace, Rechkemmer has learned many new skills. There is more to a hardware store job than just working at a register. Rechkemmer has made keys, stocked the shelves, mowed, mixed paint, and completed the very important job of making popcorn. There is a lot more that goes on in the back of Ace than most people know about. There is a repair shop in the back and a stockroom big enough for a forklift.

Rechkemmer says that working at Ace is a good high school job that has helped him with his communication skills and taught him many useful skills, including but not limited to how to pop popcorn for a crowd.