A Davenport woman is retiring, after a half-century on the job. When Shirley Schmidt hired on as a supply clerk at Ralston-Purina in Davenport, Truman was president, bread was 16 cents a loaf, stamps were three cents each, and gasoline was 27 cents a gallon. That was 1951, and now five decades later, Schmidt is still on the job, though she’s planning to retire. Schmidt says even after working at the same place for fifty years, she’s found it different every day.And now that Schmidt is retired from five decades of accounting work, how will she spend her time? She says she may do some personal accounting, along with other things she finds to do.Schmidt was a supply clerk when she was hired in 1951, and today is in charge of accounts and payroll for the entire plant.
