I can think of three ways I’ve left my mark on the built environment of Green Bay. This is the first.

The summer after high school graduation, I took a job working for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. It wasn’t a cool job. I wasn’t a “copy boy,’ a ”cub reporter,’ or anything of that nature. I was there to save up money, not to pad my résumé. I worked on the janitorial staff, it paid pretty well compared to the other low wage jobs that were available.

In addition to performing routine janitorial duties, my and my fellow summer colleague’s principal job was cleaning the inside of the press room. I spent much of the summer of 1993 a top a 20-foot ladder, scrubbing off ink that had misted onto the walls from the nearby printing presses. It was precarious and a little terrifying. I recall that at the end of the summer, our supervisor told us that the following year he would rent cherry pickers. It turns out that that’s what they normally did, but they’d tried to save money that year. I didn’t know what to say to that then. Today I would, but I’m thinking that Mark is long dead.

One afternoon, Mark pointed to a stack of concrete pavers and told us to use them to ‘pave’ a section of the grassy area next to the sidewalk adjacent to the building. He didn’t say why we would do this, nor did he offer any guidance. So, we just went ahead and did it.

Considering we knew nothing and that they’ve now been there for 31 years, I think we did okay. But I still can’t think of a reason why someone would ask us to do this.