Forty Years in the Same Office

Melodie Davis typing in her secretarial role circa 1978. Photo by Al Brubaker

I have worked in the same building for 40 years. To some, that sounds like a jail sentence. Boring. To others, that might sound like glorious security and stability. I’ve entered the same doors and gone up the same steps for 40 years. That’s as long as Moses and the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness! I used to ponder how they could have tolerated that, but now I know just how long that is! In some ways it feels like no time at all.

I’ve entered the same doors and went up the same steps for 40 years. That’s as long as Moses and the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness!

I have lived a lifetime in these halls—longer than I’ve lived in any one house. In May 1976 I left these halls one Wednesday afternoon as a single woman. I came back 10 days later, tanned (yes, in those days) and shyly grinning from our Myrtle Beach honeymoon. About five years later, I returned from a visit to the ob-gyn, and stared at myself in the restroom mirror, barely able to believe I was pregnant. Seven months later I sat in that same restroom and stared at the old tile floor: was I going into labor? For one of our daughters, I actually did go into labor while in the middle of an office meeting—but since she was our second child, I just hid my winces through the contractions and watched the clock. Not yet close enough. A little of my life in these halls.

The current MennoMedia building was originally an appliance store in the late 60s early 70s in Harrisonburg, Va.

The only thing that hasn’t changed about my job is change. Years passed and new media forms emerged—videos, CDs, digital, the Internet. There have been countless new projects and priorities; new bosses, coworkers, organizational structures. Even the church as a denomination reorganized—merged with another. As an employee of one of the agencies within that structure, I got to go through all that fun. Endless meetings in far-flung cities. I can’t even tell you how often our agency’s name changed, but my work all had to do with media as Christian/Mennonite ministry.

I began this job July 7, 1975, a little more than a month after the ink was dry on my college diploma. I remember what I wore that first day. I had made a complete, coordinated summery outfit of skirt, jacket (safari-style), blouse, pants, and a second skirt. I was quite the seamstress once upon an earlier time.

My first day went just fine, but I was throwing-up-sick the second day. How embarrassing to call in sick your second day! But that soon passed. Not counting maternity leaves, I probably wasn’t sick more than 14 days all together. I was sick more often than that, but sometimes on weekends, vacations, or holidays. I’ve moved and occupied seven or eight different offices over the years, which was always okay by me, although a time drain: at least the moves helped me get rid of stuff.

Job-wise, I went from secretary to secretary/ghostwriter to radio producer, writer, editor, columnist, script writer for a string of TV documentaries, and website producer/editor. Along the way I’ve written my share of news releases, ads, newsletters, annual reports, minutes—all stuff that gets passed your way if you get a reputation for cranking it out. Not my favorite kind of writing, but it was the kind of work I thought I was looking for when I first set foot inside the door. My Spanish professor at Eastern Mennonite University encouraged me to apply for the secretarial opening he’d heard about. His wife also worked here—one Ella May Miller, for whom I later ghostwrote radio scripts. She was the voice and personality on the popular-at-the-time Heart to Heart radio program. Her eight books sold almost three-quarters of a million copies. And, oh yeah, eventually I added “author” to my list of jobs, but my books never came close to Ella May’s in popularity. To be fair, book publishing just exploded in terms of quantity of books out there from the 1960s to the 1990s and beyond.

I think of dozens of others who worked here, many of whom became great friends, especially while we worked and traveled together. I especially remember the last day our human relations director, Erma, walked oh so slowly out to her car, suffering from late-stage colon cancer. Only God knew just how late stage it was. She died within two weeks—and had worked with every ounce of strength she had those last days in the office. We were so unprepared for her actual departure; I don’t think she wanted it that way, it was just that she truly planned to come back.

Even though this may sound like a swan song, I’m not retiring. I’m hoping for a few more great years. I’ve always said I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve been moved to tears here out of frustration and anger. Some of the perpetual budget and job cuts over the years were gut-wrenching. Those are my regrets—that there ever had to be any. If I had been boss, I would not have lasted 40 years.

I kept sane and creatively inspired by countless trips for conferences, meetings, and conventions—plus those three maternity leaves, after which I went to part-time work for a couple of years. I also took at “professional sabbatical” and worked for three months in the communication office of a local poultry plant. I weighed going back to school for a master’s or more, but always reasoned that I preferred to write for “the masses”—in everyday columns, books, and articles like this. I have loved this work, and for that I know I’m extremely lucky, and deeply grateful. I have wonderful reader friends who have shared their lives back through this space. It is more than a job: it’s a mission. Thanks be to God.

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HISTORY BUFFS: Help me clean out my work closet! I have several dozen vintage ’50s and ’60s postcards produced by Ella May Miller for Heart to Heart such as “Beatitudes for Married Couples,” “Bless this Home,” “Guidelines for Parents,” and “Teen Good Rules,” and one written by yours truly as a ghost writer for Ella May, “Beatitudes for A Busy Day.” SEE PHOTOS BELOW. Write and request any title and I’ll be happy to send you one or two of your choice. Good while supplies last. Request from MelodieD@MennoMedia.org or Another Way, 1251 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22802.

NOTE: These cards do not necessarily reflect current theology, language or practice of MennoMedia or Third Way! Can you find the card that recommends mending stockings as a sign of a good homemaker?? We’d love to see your comments or reflections in the comment section!

AND for more fun history related to my roles at MennoMedia and beyond, check an earlier Finding Harmony Blog post, here.