Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work

County Clerk Clela Rorex talks with her friend, Sue Larson. Clela first ran for county clerk in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. At the time, no woman had held that office in 30 years, and she was surprised when she won the election. As county clerk, she issued marriage licenses and license plates and managed documents and voting. When Boulder passed the first ordinance in the country to protect LGBTQ rights, Clela found herself mired in controversy.

In 1975, a gay couple arrived to get a marriage license. After some research, Clela decided that Colorado marriage law did not specify man and woman, and she was legally required to give them the license. She soon received hate mail as entire church congregations wrote to condemn her. She issued five more marriage licenses for LGBTQ couples before the threats scared her and she left office.

Sue was in high school at the time and was impressed by the story. She calls Clela an incredible ally and one of her heroes.

Reverend Eric D. Williams speaks with his colleague, Jannette Berkeley-Patton. Early in the AIDS epidemic, he received a request to perform funeral rites for a gay man who died of AIDS. The pastor of his own church refused to give him a proper burial. Eric, a Black pastor in a Black community, knew how divisive the issue was and feared conflict with the other pastors in his community, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

Afterward, he wanted to educate others about AIDS. When other clergy heard what he was doing, he lost fellowships, was accused of having AIDS himself, and was ostracized by his community. Eventually, attitudes changed and people began to trust him again.

Eric says that he is not a vocal person and would have preferred not to stir up trouble and be noticed, but he was called to do this work. He says, “I came into this work kicking and screaming [...] But my heart was pulled. Everything good that I’ve been able to accomplish in ministry has started with some kind of a burden, and AIDS burdened me” (239).

Chef and restaurateur Laura Martinez speaks with her business advisor, Andrew Fogaty, about opening her own restaurant. Laura, blind from a young age, talks about cooking with her mother in Mexico as a child and learning by smell. She attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu, one of the most prestigious culinary schools in the world. However, she had difficulty finding work after graduation and decided to open her own restaurant. She hired Andrew to help her obtain a small business loan, but the banks refused to take her seriously. Andrew believed in Laura and refused to give up.

After several years of work, they succeeded, and Laura opened her first restaurant, La Diosa in Chicago. Laura claims that she would never have succeeded without Andrew, but Andrew disagrees. He was happy to help but believes she would have succeeded no matter what, telling her she is a “pioneer” and a “groundbreaker” (245).

Dorothy Glinton speaks with her son, Sonari Glinton, about becoming a Ford assembly plant supervisor. After a divorce, she moved to Chicago and worked for General Telephone and Electric until she was laid off. She then started college at 30 years old while raising two kids alone. Despite many obstacles, she graduated.

Then, she got a job working on a Ford assembly line. One day, she marched into the corporate office with her resume and demanded to know why there were no women in management positions. She told them she was qualified so they should just hire her, and to her surprise, they did.

Dorothy became the second woman ever in a management position at the plant. Many of her male co-workers harassed her, played disgusting pranks, and complained that she was stealing men’s jobs. In response, she simply worked harder. She also fought to improve conditions for women and sued Ford for equal employment, leading to more women in management and operations.

Frank Scott talks about his father, NASCAR driver Wendell Scott, with his son, Warrick Scott. Wendell began racing cars in 1952, at a time when there were no other Black men in racing. He did not have sponsors or much income. His children worked in the garage, and Wendell often made do with used and discarded car parts to keep his car working.

Wendell was not allowed to race in certain states because of segregation. During one race, Wendell was given third place despite winning because the organizers did not want him interacting with the white beauty queen who always handed out the trophy and kissed the winner. He was also often not allowed to eat or buy gas at the “white only” diners and truck stops while he traveled to races.

Despite this, he never considered quitting. He always raced, even when sick or injured. Wendell died in 1990, and in 2015, he became the first African American to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Lyle Link speaks with his granddaughter, Clary Dreher, about being a building contractor. As a child, Lyle was raised as a dairy farmer. However, he decided he could not live the way his father wanted him to, so he dropped out of school and left town. He married and had six kids. Then, by accident, he became a building contractor with no training or experience. He bluffed his way through before discovering that he was a natural problem solver and salesman.

He explains that after the Great Depression and World War II, many businessmen were dishonest and took advantage of people, but he did everything he could to prove he can be trusted. He saw every building he made as a monument built to last and took that responsibility seriously. When his granddaughter asks him if he has any regrets, he says he does not. Every mistake he made was a learning opportunity. His advice is to “live with courage” (257).