Pleasant presser

SHE IS

Presser of polyester and sorter of silks.

SOMETHING SHE’S ALWAYS DONE

Margaret Cirson began pressing clothes 23 years ago in Huntington

Beach when her and husband John moved back to the United States after

living with her family in Europe for several years.

The couple had first come to the United States in 1967, to Detroit,

Mich., from Italy, where Margaret was born.

John Cirson found a job in real estate, while Margaret went to Royal

Cleaners on the corner of Garfield Avenue and Magnolia Street in

Huntington Beach to find work.

“I went in and they said, ‘Can you press?’ and I just started working

at the cleaners,” Cirson said laughing.

Her smile shows she likes her job.

“I like pressing, I like seeing the same customers every time,” Cirson

said. Everybody knows you and likes you. I like my job, everything I do.”

A MOST PREFERRED EMPLOYEE

And she does just about everything at Caruso Cleaners, at the corner

of Beach Boulevard and Talbert Avenue in Huntington Beach, where she has

worked for the past five years.

She presses the clothes, assembles them on the moving racks, works the

cash register and assists the customers.

Cirson thinks her five years at Caruso Cleaners could be a reason

owner Dominic Caruso feels comfortable giving her added responsibilities.

“[Caruso] lets me do the counter because I have experience,” Cirson

said.

The biggest obstacle for Cirson is making enough time to press certain

fabrics.

“Some [fabrics] like cotton are not hard, but just need more time,”

Cirson said, as she pulled a leopard-patterned blouse from a rack.

Her son usually takes her to work at 9:30 or 10 a.m., and Caruso takes

her home when she gets off work, usually 6 or 7 p.m. because, as Cirson

puts it laughing, “[Caruso] doesn’t want me to walk a couple of blocks.”

DIARY OF DRY CLEANING

The store sees 300 to 400 pieces of clothes each day, and every piece

is treated the day it comes in.

Each piece that comes through the doors of Caruso Cleaners is tagged,

separated and put into a basket labeled either “color” or “white.” Pieces

are then put into the Lindus Plant, the store’s dry cleaning machine that

separates moisture from the clothes and can clean whites and remove

stains from dark clothes at the same time.

From the machine, clothes are pressed, touched up, packaged in a clear

plastic bag and placed on a rack.

Cirson goes through the cleaning process six days a week, Caruso’s is

closed Sundays. She said she plans on doing it well into the future.

“As long as [Caruso] has the business, I don’t plan on moving on,”

Cirson said.