Walmart held 1st job fair

Twenty-five years ago this week, prospective workers lined up to apply for jobs at the Walmart store that was being constructed on the north side of Portland.

The Aug. 7, 1995, edition of The Commercial Review told the story of a factory worker, a mother and her daughter and a 77-year-old part-time minister who were among those at a job fair to hire about 150 full-time and part-time jobs for the store.

“it seems to me like we’ve got a good variety,” said Cindy New, who was preparing to manage Walmart’s new Portland location. “It takes all kinds of people to work and run a Walmart store.”

Among those applying were Timothy Uhrick, 53, who was thankful for the opportunity following the announcement earlier in the week that Bailey Corporation’s plastic automotive parts plant would shut down within a couple of months. He had worked at the Bailey plant for five years.

“I’ve got to live like everyone else and I shop at Walmart, Uhrick said. “There’s other places I’m going to (apply).

“I’ve got to find a job.”

Also applying that day were Uhrick’s wife, Becky, and Bryant’s Marvin Johnson, who had also worked at Bailey. Other applicants included Portland’s Marty Stump, a former employee at the Big Wheel discount store in Portland that had closed the previous year, and 77-year-old part-time Portland minister H. Ray Burkett.

“Well, I thought maybe I could make a good greeter,” Burkett said.