Students, staff surprise beloved 86-year-old custodian on his birthday
By Kayla James
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LAUREL, Iowa (KCCI) — Students and staff at East Marshall Elementary School in Laurel found a good reason to celebrate together this week: Mick Good’s 86th birthday.
Good is one of two custodians at the elementary school.
“Their day changes every day, and it’s a busy day,” said Mark Albertsen, the school’s principal. “Whether it’s breakfast or lunch, they’re cleaning the hallways, cleaning the classrooms.”
That daily workload is just what occurs during the school year. Even when the around 300 students who go to East Marshall Elementary School are not there during the summer, the custodians are hard at work.
“They empty all the classrooms and scrub them down really good. They put the desks back in for the teachers to be ready for the beginning of the school year,” said Albertsen. “Mick himself, being 86 years old, will empty a whole room by himself. His goal in the summer is usually to empty out one a day, and then he’ll get it cleaned and put it back.”
Good has worked in the education field in some capacity for 68 years.
“I started when I was 17 years old, but then I took a little break,” said Good, who tells us he started as a social studies teacher. “But my parents were still teaching at the school — at Ferguson — so I still worked there off and on. I taught in school for 18 years.”
Good says he also coached six-on-six girls’ basketball, softball and baseball.
At 86 years old and working four hours a day as a custodian, Good is a prime example of the phrase “age is just a number.”
“I get here about 4:45 in the morning,” said Good. I vacuum the building, and the head custodian cleans the bathrooms, and then we leave. At 1 p.m., normally, I come back and I’m here in case somebody gets sick, and then I pick up the garbage.”
When he returned to school just before 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, on his 86th birthday, he was met with something he did not expect.
On the school playground near a fence decorated with balloons sat the students. His close family and friends were nearby. Teachers and staff stood, dressed in shirts with a picture of him dressed as Elvis on the front.
“I was always a big Elvis fan, so we started having an Elvis Week,” said Good, explaining what led to him dressing up for multiple years as Elvis, one of his favorite singers. “I got a jumpsuit. On Friday, we’d have a real special day where I gave away a lot of stuff. I had a lot of Elvis memorabilia.”
On his 86th birthday, everyone who stood in front of the school was prepared for the tree dedication ceremony for him. Several months before, Albertsen asked Good what his favorite tree was. The answer: Redmond American linden trees, which were what several students and staff helped plant in front of the playground on his birthday.
The birthday celebration came with gifts, including from the New York Yankees — Good’s favorite baseball team. Albertsen reached out to the organization, which sent back a card with a message for Good.
Another message was one by the students. It was shared during the celebration and very much loved by Good, who has conversations with the students of East Marshall Elementary School every day he is in the hall. The students also speak to him when they pass him, and some even help him while he is working in the afternoon.
“You see him around the kids, and he’s giving fist bumps to them,” said Albertsen.
“I just enjoy the kids, you know?” added Good. “They’re great and they’re nice.”
Good could retire. He knows that. However, he enjoys working with the people within East Marshall Elementary School and connecting with the students. On his 86th birthday, they made sure he knew just how much they love and appreciate him.
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