Teen Work Ethic is Alive and Well in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - If Caleb Larson and Jessica Erb aren't cleaning the basement or sorting out the garage, they may be painting the fence. Or installing landscaping blocks. Or cleaning. Or putting up wallpaper borders. Or ...

It seems that Don and Geri Whithed have no shortage of chores for these teenagers, both 18 and recent graduates of Washington High School.

It is Don's enthusiasm, his willingness to pay $7.75 an hour and his belief that teenagers as a class get a bad rap that has brought me to his southeast Cedar Rapids home.

"I want people in this city to know there are great kids out there," Don says. "They are Cedar Rapids' best. They will do anything you ask them to do. They are wonderful kids."

Caleb has worked for Don and Geri four summers now. He'll attend Mount Mercy University to pursue a business degree, hoping to become a CPA or stockbroker. Having taken some business courses in high school, he's ready to explore the stock market.

"I think I'm going to be doing some investing soon," he smiles.

This is Jessica's first summer with the Whitheds. She's off to Creighton University in Omaha this fall where she'll "just wing it" her first year, although she has aspirations to become a medical doctor. She's played soccer and volleyball.

As friends, Caleb and Jessica attended prom together this year. When Don asked Caleb if he knew a girl who could help out, especially for Geri who has back problems and wears a boot on a broken foot, Caleb brought Jessica over for an "interview."

"It was more like an introduction," she laughs.

That's because Don trusted Caleb's judgment, something he believes is important in this day and age for people in their 70s to connect with teens.

Don, 79, is a McKinley High School graduate and held a variety of jobs until starting a career as a purchasing agent for St. Luke's Hospital that would last nearly 35 years. Geri, 76, a native of Carroll, had a 35-year career at Rockwell-Collins. They met later in life and married in 1987. Each has lost a child.

Caleb and Jessica will each work two, three, five hours a day several days a week. Maintaining a neat, clean house takes time.

"They never take a minute off unless we say, ‘Let's take a break,'" Geri says. "They just work."

"I never knew Caleb's work ethic before I met him," Don says. "It's wonderful. And Jessica, to me, is a very beautiful girl, not only on the outside, but on the inside, too."

Caleb and Jessica simply smile as they tackle organizing the garage and watering the flowers.

"I know this," Don says. "Both of them are going to be successful in life."