Sliced Bread
… the History & Humor of Route Sales
by
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I’ve spent most of my working life in a fun and fascinating industry- wholesale commercial bread sales. I’ve used the humorous incidents and stressful situations of that business as dinner table entertainment for years. Now I realize that as the experienced route salesmen are becoming older, the history isn’t being related to the next generation.
In this book you’ll find a lot of humor and some keys to understanding human nature. Most of the incidents are from my life and experience. Some stories were contributed by friends and associates for inclusion here. To prevent confusion on the part of the reader, I’ve told each story in first person as though it had happened to me or in my presence.
Most of the stories contained here happened in the hills and plains of the Mid-South and the Rocky Mountain West. I moved from one location to another as I was recruited to help build or rebuild the sales department in bakeries in
This book was never intended to be a biography. It is a history that I have endeavored to tell as short scenarios taken from reality of the times.
Throughout a long business career, I have been in sales and sales management most of the time. Although I sold some other products and services over the years, I enjoyed bread sales the most. I found it stimulating and invigorating, fulfilling and challenging. Most of all I found it to be profitable- and fun.
Enjoy reading Sliced Bread. I certainly enjoyed writing it but, more than that- I enjoyed living it.
L.W.
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About the Book
Sliced Bread is a collection of humorous, entertaining and educational stories gleaned from years of experience in wholesale and retail, commercial bread sales.
Here is a glimpse of how things were and how the industry evolved over time. Sliced Bread provides the reader with a bit of history that has been taken for granted. How does bread get from the bakery to the rack in your favorite market? Is one brand really better than another?
Meet a special breed of men who were willing to start their work day at 4:00 AM and return home after dark- six days each week. Join in their antics and pranks and gain an understanding of their motivations.
L.W. Martin is a charismatic storyteller who lived these stories. In this book he has opened a window to views you have never seen before… unless you were a “bread man.”
About the Author
It is evident that good salesmen are born not made. In his long sales career, L.W. has been highly successful in selling metal buildings, bread, snack cakes, and insurance.
His other career has been music. He started customer service early by promoting his own western swing band at the age of 16. Because of the live radio broadcast schedule, L.W. missed most of his high school Spanish classes. The Buckaroos played weekend dances in
WWII found L.W. continuing his music- heading a band, the Rhythm Five, playing at military installations in the Pacific. He later served as coordinator for the 8th Army Special Services booking entertainment for military staging facilities at the close of the war.
L.W. retired three times from his extensive sales career but has never really quit working. He now volunteers as an instructor for the Literacy Council- teaching adults to read. He is active in his church and the Masonic Fraternity.