Location: Shubenacadie. Enough said. If you don’t know where this little town is (“town” is definitely exaggerating…more like a tiny settlement) then you really aren’t missing out on anything. If you feel like you ARE missing out, follow the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park signs that begin just past the airport.
I myself am from the pleasant village of Milford, East Hants. If you’ve ever been, you know that jobs in Milford consisted of a gas station, an ice cream store, a co-op, and a farm store. These are the jobs that kids flocked to. When I was in Junior High, a new clothing store plus more opened in Shubenacadie, five minutes away from my house. It was called…wait for it…The Clothing Line. If the name doesn’t leave you wanting more, than I don’t know what will!
My friend Sienade and I were instantly intrigued; a clothing store in East Hants? It definitely had to be better than pumping gas or scooping ice cream. So I applied and got the job.
The Clothing Line consisted of a starting staff of just 5 people. My boss was 23. Needless to say, the store could have been run a lot more strategically. The store was small, but incredibly lengthily. The cash register was at the front, dressing rooms at the back. The middle of the store was a sea of clothing racks and shelves, all of which I had to tidy and size close to 25-30 times a shift. I was usually paired to work with Sienade, and I guess you could say that we made the most of it. My boss was only there during the days, so we often took advantage of the restaurant next door during our evening shifts, which supplied us with poutine and chicken strips as an evening snack. I know, I know, how professional of me. But it was just so delicious!
The Clothing Line had its up’s and down’s. One bad part was that the building was about to fall down, so you had to be careful how much you hung on the walls. Another bad part was that kids constantly entered the dressing rooms, locked them from the inside, then squeezed back under them. When we were supposed to start closing the store, I always wondered why there were still people in the dressing rooms. I finally got the better of them by constructing a door un-locking apparatus made of hangers.
An upside to working at this run-down building was that you knew everyone who shopped there. Friends and family, but also the man who didn’t shower, and the lady next door who didn’t own a pair of shoes and instead had an intense slipper collection. I learned a valuable lesson that year: know your audience, and always carry hand sanitizer.
One of the most memorable times at The Clothing Line was when an older lady came in and asked if I got my hideous blue uniform shirt at our store. I was happy to give her the one of my back. She thought I was a saint. A win-win situation.
Now, I know you will all be extremely disappointed to hear this, but The Clothing Line is now closed, and has been for 4 years now. I guess they just couldn’t handle business without me! Or the building got extremely contaminated. Despite the bizarre customers and constant mishaps, working here was an absolute blast.
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