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When I was nine years old and in fourth grade, I remember reading about George Washington and his chopping down a cherry tree. As the story goes, when asked by his Dad as to whether he had chopped down the cherry tree, he reportedly said that he could not tell a lie, and that, yes, he had done so.
Because George Washington told his Dad the truth, he earned the name and reputation of “Honest George”.
I also remember the story of Abraham Lincoln. He grew up having to work to survive while studying at night by candlelight. One day he walked miles to the general store to buy something, perhaps it was more candles. Anyway, as I recall the story, Abraham Lincoln returned home only to discover that he had been given too much change.
Abraham Lincoln immediately trekked back miles to the store to return the change he was given in error. He had to walk back home as well.
According to the story, because Abraham Lincoln returned the change, he earned the name and reputation of “Honest Abe”.
Being an impressionable kid, I took these stories to heart and tried to picture myself as “Honest Bill” and wondered if I would ever face similar circumstances.
Then it actually happened.
I was raised on West Washington Street in Chambersburg. It was just before Christmas, and I had opened my piggy bank after school one day and had decided to shop for Christmas presents.
The hardware store was two blocks away at the corner on Main Street. With my savings in hand, I walked to the store, bought a little can opener for my grandmother and some other small items for my family all of which added up to less than the four dollars that I had saved. Money went a lot further in those days.
When I arrived home I discovered that I had been given twenty four cents in change when I should have received only nineteen cents.
So, seizing on the opportunity, I marched back to the hardware store with the extra nickel and the ambition to earn the name and reputation of “Honest Bill”.
When I arrived at the store, I recall that the sales clerk was busy with another customer, so I waited quietly. I was bursting with pride as I was about to be praised for my honesty.
The sales clerk finally finished with the customer, and I said, “Excuse me. You gave me twenty four cents in change, but I should have only received nineteen cents. Here is your five cents back”.
I waited for what was only a few seconds, but for what seemed like an eternity. The sales clerk looked at the nickel, and then down at me. The sales clerk did not smile, or even thank me. Rather, I was told that I should have just forgotten it, and if there was nothing else I wanted I could leave the store.
I did as I was told. I did not receive any praise, and I was disappointed and disillusioned, all at once.
In the stories, “Honest George” and “Honest Abe” were rewarded for their honesty. They earned respect and admiration. I didn’t. I cried on the way home. .
Then as a teenager I would spend as much time with my father as I could. He was a businessman who I now understand was not always well liked. He would say what he meant and, more often than not, he did not mince words. He was hard as nails when it came to negotiation.
Yet, he was able to teach me something about honesty.
My father had a number of interests, one of which was the paper towel manufacturing business which he operated locally. In fact this paper mill was one of the original recycling enterprises in the country.
My father would purchase from a number of suppliers ingredients which were then blended together in large vats into a substance that looked a lot like oatmeal and that would eventually be spread across large rollers to be shaped into paper towels.
Anyway, one of the ingredients was waste paper… the same material that we recycle today. This waste paper was loaded in large bales onto a train car and shipped to the paper towel mill.
Each supplier would then submit to the paper towel mill a bill for the weight shipped of the waste paper.
The suppliers shipping the waste paper were not always accurate or honest. Sometimes the bill would be for more weight than was actually shipped. Occasionally it was for less.
My father told me how it was important to be honest. If a supplier of the waste paper tried to cheat by billing for more than what was shipped, my father would reduce the bill to the exact amount owed, pay the supplier, and never do business with that supplier again. If, on the other hand, if a supplier billed for less than what was shipped, my father would increase the bill to the exact amount owed and pay the supplier.
Yet, my father did not ask for recognition, no one called him honest anything. He tried to be honest, because it was the right thing to do.
As I grew and matured through my educational years and my business career, I came to grips with the utter disappointment of feeling humiliated as a youngster by doing the right thing over a nickel. I had wanted recognition so badly.
What my father taught me was so much more satisfying. Honesty is something you do for yourself.
Bill Gindlesperger is a central Pennsylvanian, Dickinson College graduate, Pennsylvania System Of Higher Education (PASSHE) Governor, former Shippensburg University Trustee, awarded numerous patents, as well as Founder and Chairman of eLynxx Solutions. eLynxx provides cloud-software for automated sourcing and managing of mail marketing, swag, packaging, and all things print. He is a board member, campaign advisor, successful entrepreneur, published author and commentator. He can be reached at Bill.Gindlesperger@eLynxx.com.
