With the school year ending and the economy slowly reopening, let’s reminisce about the illustrious history of summer jobs.

I’m sure many of you worked your way through high school and college by flipping burgers, mowing lawns, performing lifeguard duties, working on an assembly line (I worked three summers in a cosmetics factory) or clerking in a retail store.

Or maybe you considered yourself part of show business while being paid to stand in front of an establishment twirling a sign. (I must confess I’ve never stopped at a business solely because of a sign-twirler. The words “Say,...