Black Sheep Sunday - Keeping A Short Leash

This black sheep will have to remain anonymous, because it is an entity that is still in business.  Most likely the individual that did this to my family years ago, around the time of the depression, is no longer with us.  The strange thing is, nothing was ever spoken of it, and the parties who were also neighbors remained kindly to one another, at least face-to-face.


Restaurant on the left
Gas Station on right

My grandmother, Florence, ran a dining room that was a regular stop for truck drivers.  As a matter-of-fact, one of the truck drivers would let my mother, at the of twelve, drive his truck about 1000 yards up the road, stop and let her out.  She would then walk home and the driver would continue on his way.

Some of the other customers included citrus farm laborers.  At noon the workers would leave the orange tree fields and go to my grandmothers for lunch. The plantation owner wasn't too happy that his workers were spending the salaries he paid them paying his neighbor not only for lunch but also purchasing gasoline for their automobiles.  My great grandfather, Emond. ran a gasoline repair business that sat on the same property.

So the good business owner built not only a lunch room but a gas station as well on his property.  Then told his workers they must buy their lunch and gasoline there.  Seems to me he wanted the salary he paid them put back into his pockets. 

The question is "Why did the laborers do what they were told?"