And in most towns, the public school system is usually the biggest employer.
I am a cabinetmaker, deemed "essential" under Idaho terms. People want their cabinets. But they don't want us in their house. My boss is almost 63. I am almost 59. His help has always been "family". Not any more. Now he has me. When I first started he was very disrespectful. Any mistake he made he pushed off on his other two (and then me) employees. His now ex son in law and his grandson. That crap dint get very far with me.
We did a kitchen remodel back in late January. In the clients price range, a bit more than Home Depot or Lowe's..
He complimented us on his cabinets. But what really impressed him was our professional approach. Knowledged, quiet, clean. He sat on his couch and watched us work. They had decided to do an overhaul and lost the wall between their kitchen and front room. Hired a contractor to destruct. Took them a few weeks. So these people are living in their home without a kitchen. We go in and my boss tells the client to call that contractor and get the plumber, floor people, and electrician over there asap.
The guy was newly retired and his wife said hiya on her way to work.
We were there for 9 hours.
Wife comes home and she has a new kitchen.
She was (OMG) amazed. Both I and the boss could have done the electrical and plumbing. It wasn't in our contract.
Cabinets and counter tops.
And she got there in time so I could show her the systems and advantages of her inter cabinet upgrades.
He shook our hands and thanked us for the show. Two elderly professional men. In and out.
Even more important. He said he knew some people that wanted some work done.