1966 / 1967

When I was seven years old there were no child labor laws.   I remember how my parents also told the kids in my family, “If you want that then go out and earn the money to get it.”  This story is not about how my parents raised me, they were great parents by the way, but why I was working at such a young age.  Not only did I have wants, lots of wants back then, I also had an abundance of energy that needed channeling.  This story is about my first real job, working for the Chart House restaurant, but I do not want to get ahead of myself.

In the late fifties a number of young men, some with families, moved to Aspen with skiing on their mind and with work as an option.  A couple of these young men including Buzzy Bent and Joey Cabell took jobs working for the various restaurants in town at night to help support their families and or skiing habits.  Over time these individuals came to know each other and spoke of their dreams to open their own restaurant some day.  By 1961 that dream became a reality when they opened a small converted diner with just a few tables and bar stools.  Later, these men along with the help of Herbie Balderson took over the space where the Toklat Restaurant stood at the corner of Durant Avenue and Aspen Street.  The Toklat had tables that hung from the ceiling by chains which made for interesting dining especially if anyone was eating food that required a knife.  Over time The Chart House replaced these tables with the traditional “floor mounted” variety.

An interesting fact that few people today know is that this was the first Chart House Restaurant of what later became a chain of restaurants by the same name.  The chain is now owned by Landry’s Restaurants, Inc.

Well, back to my part of the story.  I am not sure how it came up or whose idea it was but I remember Herbie asking me (or one of my parents) if I would come to work for the restaurant.  The job he had in mind was to water the plants.  Little did I know this was a task big enough for three kids not one.  My first day on the job took me about four hours to get them all watered as well as leaving paths from each sink to the nearest plants.  By the end of the summer I had cut that time down to three and one half hours with a lot more precision.  I also spent time visiting with the prep cooks and struck up a friendship with a prep cook from Australia who continued to work there into the early eighties.  Sadly, I eventually lost touch with him.

I remember there was always music on in the background while I worked.  There was one band in particular that was played constantly, but I did not mind as I really liked them.  It was the Moody Blues, Days of Future Passed, which came out that year (1967).  One of my “wants” that forced me to have a job at such a young age was that I wanted a “stereo” which included a record player and the first record (LP) I ever purchased after getting my stereo was that album.  To this day I still listen to that album on a pretty regular basis.  I am also pretty good at taking care of plants.  The restaurant has closed now, its founders have moved on but the town will always be the home for the first Chart House restaurant.

“In loving memory of Herbie Balderson – an artist, a father and a friend.”