Ever heard of those who struggle, and then the few who can pull themselves out of it? Here is a story about a young man named Jay. Jay comes from a town called Cecil just southwest of Pittsburgh. From the very start, he was well-mannered and had always thought of everyone else besides himself. The kind of person that puts family first at all times. Cecil was a very nice place to live in, but unfortunately, only for wealthy people. Jay and his family fell on the poorer end of economic status, and for this reason, his struggles began early. The age of 7 would be his and his brother Arthur’s last year of their lives without work. Their mother working three jobs already, and the father is nowhere to be found, these two had to mature quicker than most. They each started working on a farm within walking distance of their home, making very little money under the table, and being put under intense labor. The money they earned was barely enough to get by for a few years. As they progressed right before 10 years of age, they faced the possibility of going into foreclosure should the family miss a payment. The mortgage was too high for just the three of them. Although being young and full of energy was helping Jay in the beginning, it was not enough. The bank was threatening to steal their rights to their mortgage and the house, and the family was almost out of options. This is when Jay and Arthur go into another company. This one will be called Allegheny Interiors. Still very young, the willpower and strong work ethic developed from working on a farm translated into being carpenters for the two of them.
Now this begins the story that started a long-lasting family company. Allegheny Interiors was a smaller local carpentry company, that consisted of an older and younger workforce. The man who brought on Jay and Arthur was Larry, and he will be the man who acts as the father figure for both of them for the years to come. Almost every day leading up until 18 years old, Jay and Arthur would either be doing school, working, or playing sports. More often than not, it was work that was the main focus. Larry would put these two young men to work every possible chance he had, and although he was hard on them, he would treat them with great respect and gratuity. Dinners were always offered to them, paid lunches, rides to and from work, and so on. Larry treated Jay and Arthur like two sons working alongside a father. This would continue up until Jay went to college later on and would then study food management. After graduation, he would once again work for Larry for a few months before going into food management. Arthur, on the other hand, would end up sticking with Allegheny Interiors.
The family struggles never really ended sadly, until years later. Day in and day out the two sons would always fight to keep the family’s head above water, new family members would fight with the mother about how much the two sons look after her. Jay and Arthur would hand money back to take care of the house and their mom who never stopped working as well. This did not go over well with the current and soon-to-be wives of the two. Time was taken away from the wives to take care of their mothers, but to them, the businesses and money were a lot to handle. Unfortunately, towards the end of the family feuds, Larry would end up passing away. This led to an end to the company, and the start of a new one. Arthur and Jay took Larry’s company and named it A.C McDermitt Incorporated.
Staying on the track of carpentry, Jay would dedicate weekends to the company, while Arthur would build two more businesses out of it, being a great servant CEO and acquiring a large number of employees. Although they could no longer work together as much, the offspring of these two will work for the company for years to come. Now, the first jobs given to the kids were all woodwork, chopping down trees, and ensuring firewood was made for the father and uncle. This would help save money for the families in the winter.
In a way, the family was the first customer, even though there was not much payment when they were all younger. It started as a chore, but as they grew older, money was involved with a farm that had plenty of trees to go around. Jay and Arthur would later think that a tree can be viewed as a cash crop in the area and that it is a perfect business for the kids to start. From here on, everything that Jay and Arthur were taught, would be passed down to the kids, and as long as there were fair contributions back to the farm, the kids were offered the resources needed to grow a business. Because of the sacrifices between these two men, Hidden Meadows Chip and Lumber would grow and have a chance to be its own company so the kids could thrive.
