One out of every eight Americans have worked at McDonald’s at some point in their life. That’s according to the fast food giant itself.
Eight of those “one-in-eights” met at a Midtown Tucson McDonald’s on November 15, the same one they worked at in the 1970s.
Six former employees showed up to the McDonald’s near 22nd St. and Country Club Rd.
It’s been 53 years since the members of the group put on their McDonald’s uniform.
“We wore black pants, a white shirt and a black bow tie,” said Richard Wistler. He started working at McDonald’s at age fifteen for $1.40 an hour.
Like most of the group, it was Wistler’s first job.
“It definitely brought me out of my shell. It taught me all the basics of work, and I went on from there,” he said. “I met my first wife there.”
Jorge de la Garza worked at the McDonald’s at the same time. He started in 1970 at fifteen years old.
“The first paycheck I got, I gave it to my mom,” he said, tearing up a bit while remembering here. “She was surprised. She was doing what I’m doing now: she got a little teary-eyed.”