90 y.o. janitor does fine at school
Published: July 26, 2006
A janitor in his 90s working at Tai Ping Elementary School in Keelung City is affectionately known as “Grandpa Lee”. Lee began working at the school 38 years ago when the school was established. While Lee is now formally retired, he still makes a point to visit the school two times each week to serve as a gardener in the green areas around the school as well as pruning the grass and shrubs in the area. Getting to the school is no easy task for Lee, as he has to make the lengthy trip to Keelung all the way from his residence in Xindian of Taipei County.
All the students and teachers at the school know Grandpa Lee. In fact, he is so popular that when there are various ceremonies or activities, he is routinely invited to hand out awards to the children.
Grandpa Lee’s real name is Lee Wei-pin. He is 91 years old and originally came from Laiyang in Shandong of China. In 1968, the Veterans Affairs Commission introduced Lee to the school, which had just been established. At the time, the first principal of the school, Wang Fu-tsai, arranged for Lee to tidy up the area around the school. In 1979, Lee formally retired from his position at the school. However, the school administration saw how diligent Lee was and asked him if he would like to begin working in the school’s kitchen. It was only in 2003 that Lee decided to stop working and return home.
Lee had spent well over half of his life working at Tai Ping Elementary School and there was no doubt that he had quite an emotional attachment to the school. When he first retired, he still got up at four in the morning and would exercise all the way from his home in Xindian to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in downtown Taipei. He would then catch a bus to Keelung and then jog to halfway up the hill where Tai Ping Elementary School was situated. Over the past few years, however, as Lee got older, many have become worried that the over-exertion could be dangerous to him and therefore not to make the long trip to the school each day. After figuring out the best plan of action with others, it was decided that he would go back to the school just twice each week, on Mondays and Thursdays.
Lee usually gets to the school at about seven in the morning, and he makes the trip to the school regardless of even if the students are on summer or winter holiday. After he arrives, he works for about three hours. Lee still has quite a physique, and is able to cut off tree branches, clip off dead leaves, saw trees, move around the various pots, and do the weeding. When it comes to gardening, he is able to do it all.
The current principal of the school, Wei Chuan-yuan, said that what is most amazing about Lee is that he is illiterate. Still, he understands how to learn by building on his experience. In addition, he is dedicated to his work and does not relax until it is all done. Wei said that over the past few years, the Keelung City government has introduced a project to plant azalea bushes throughout the city in an effort to spruce up the look of the city. Tai Ping Elementary School applied for 200 of the bushes a couple of years ago. Wei said that he heard that many places did not have much luck in getting the bushes to grow. However, the situation at the elementary school is exactly the opposite. The school now has over 300 of the azalea bushes, thanks to the expert gardening by Lee.
School recessed for summer vacation several weeks ago. Despite the soaring temperatures and strong sun, Lee is busier than ever. When school is in session, students sometimes help out Lee in watering plants. But with the students now on holiday, he does the work on his own. He decided that he might as well move all of the potted plants scattered throughout the school into one area, which will make it easier for him to tend to.
In light of his diligence and enthusiasm for his work, the school each year invites him to participate in the school’s graduation ceremony and has him hand out awards. In addition, Lee is assigned to a seat next to officials, guests and parents, which makes him an honorary teacher at the school. Starting this year, the school has established the Grandpa Lee Service Award, which is bestowed on students who show a zeal for service just like Lee. When Lee gets on the podium, he says a few sentences to further motivate the students. To be sure, his thick accent makes it difficult for most of the people in the crowd to understand what he is saying. Nonetheless, the students who win the award are quite proud of their achievement. He said that the students and teachers at the school have never looked upon him as a janitor. In the same spirit, he looks upon the school as his second home.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: