Who would have thought that pumping gas could fuel an executive’s career? Or that farm work could lead to a law degree?

In observance of Labor Day, a sampling of county professionals share the stories of their beginnings, noting that manual labor or service jobs were important steps to success.

<b>Les Shoop is the boys basketball coach at Knoch High School.</B>I carried out ashes out of a theater I lived behind, because they heated the theater with coal.I did that probably from eighth grade until graduation. (The owner) would give me a pass to go to the movies, which was 60 cents. That’s what it cost to go to the movie.I would do that every Saturday morning, and I would say it took a couple hours. We’d put the ashes in five-gallon buckets and haul them up the steps out of his basement, and we would dump them in a field or in a creek. That was probably my first job.The thing I learned from it is how to work hard. (The buckets) were heavy, and you didn’t get paid much.

<B>Rebecca Crum-Reinsel is the executive director of the Butler County Historical Society.</B>I was a waitress for Pizza Hut in Franklin. That’s where I’m from. I worked there during the summers while I was going to college so I could pay for my books and my spending money and sorority dues — anything I had to purchase outside of my tuition.I had to interact with the public daily in doing that job, and that carried over to my professional career. And also working with your colleagues daily — getting along with them, creating a camaraderie — that’s going to carry over into any job you have later in life.You have to learn how to help each other.

<B>Frank Lagrotta is the state representative for the 10th District.</B>As a 10th grader at Riverside High School, I worked as a disc jockey at the country music station WFEM.They made me change my name to Frank Anthony, because Anthony (was simpler and) is my middle name.In the middle of my first year, the new station manager said, “That kid’s voice hasn’t changed yet. Get him off the air.”Everybody called me Frankie the high-voiced sophomore.About 25 years later, I was a legislator at a 50th wedding anniversary in New Castle. I was presenting an award to the couple. Out of the crowd came that station manager. He said, “Your voice has changed and so have you.” We both had a good laugh.

<B>Diane Sheets is executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Butler County.</B>My very first job was a waitress at Howard Johnson’s on the Turnpike in Pleasant Valley, which was the stop between Irwin and Monroeville.I made 63 cents an hour plus tips. I was rich, too, I’ll tell you. When you’re 16, 63 cents is a lot of money.I worked at that Howard Johnson’s for probably four, almost five years. It was a good job: It was weekends and after school, and I have to tell you that I had an older sister and two younger brothers that worked there at the same time. We also had a pretty good carpool going.I think that, on the funny side, I learned that I didn’t want to have to do that for the rest of my life — that I’d rather be paid for my brain. I guess what I learned most of all is to appreciate people in the service industry … having been there. And even in my current position to show them as much respect as they would show me as a customer. And I would hope I would always do that.

<B>Al Lindsay is a trial attorney and an owner of Birdsfoot Golf Club in South Buffalo Township.</B>Most of my youth was spent working on our family farm: grade school, high school, all my summer vacations. When I wasn’t in school, I was working on the farm.It was a big farm. The golf course is on part of that farm. … When we were kids — 11, 12 years old — the things we were doing would probably violate the law today.It was nasty work. In the grain bin, the grain would dump this dust and dirt on you. As kids, 11, 12 years old, we were trying to level off these bins so they could put more grain in.It was a beef farm, but we had a couple dairy cows. I would milk by hand. I was always assured (that due to the milking by hand) my grip would be built up, and that would be good for me.When I went away to school, we had about 24 boys in our class. They had this thing that would test your grip, and I had the weakest grip in the class.

<b>Rich Gigliotti is the warden at the Butler County Prison.</B>I was a morning newspaper delivery person for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I was about 10 years old. I did that probably for two years.We used to do a collection once a week, and a week’s collection was 49 cents per customer.I’ve had a number of jobs over the years, but probably the more memorable ones were during my summer months in college. I worked in a steel mill down in Pittsburgh. It was very hard, dirty work. My first job out of college I worked as a private investigator.I found myself working undercover in a meat processing plant, where cattle were taken right off the train, walked into the plant, and within 15 minutes were butchered and wrapped and we hauled the quartered cattle into the deep freezer.What made it interesting was I was working under cover (to identify who) was stealing. They were all carrying knives and the boss was carrying a gun (for slaughtering).I didn’t know who the bad guy was. My concern was if they discovered me before I discovered them, I was going to end up on the hook.I even solved the case, nobody got hurt and I didn’t get hurt — which was a good thing.

<B.The Rev. Joseph Newell is pastor of St. Ferdinand Roman Catholic Church in Cranberry Township.</B>As a kid I had a paper route and I was an usher at Forbes Field.I was about 16 or 17. People would come into ball games and we’d show them where their seats were. We got paid 75 cents a game. If we weren’t picked, we’d get to see the game — when more ushers showed up than what they needed, depending on the size of the crowd.One time I wasn’t picked, and the team wasn’t very good in those years. I remember I sat in the middle of the reserved section by myself, right in the center. And I fell asleep watching the game.They were losing about 18 to 4. When I woke up I thought everybody in the place was looking at me, so I got up and walked out. I didn’t get back for many years.