BEULAH CRITES COOKS UP RETIREMENT PLANS

Beulah Crites is a good cook. Some Jackson junior high school students will vouch for her capabilities at cashiering. It seems that some cashiers can move you through the line faster than others. When you're hungry, that's very important.

At the junior high school, no cash is received. Instead, the card method is used. It is supposed to speed up the lines. With a few hundred people to serve in a short period of time, it helps. Crites tells the story about a young teacher who came in to buy lunch on the first day of school and didn't have a card. Crites sent her away. No card, no lunch. She didn't know the young woman was a teacher. Her co-workers still tease her about how she wouldn't let this poor teacher eat lunch.

Crites' baking partner will have a replacement when she leaves, but it will be an adjustment. After working together for so long, they don't really need to verbally communicate anymore. When one baker is at the mixer, the partner knows it's time to grease the pans.

Timing is of the essence in serving lunch three times daily at a school cafeteria. There have been no major mishaps to speak of and most likely this is because the staff operates so well together. When one person gets caught up with her duties, they help the each other. "It's hard work, but fun" said Crites. Crites was really concerned about making time for an interview because she was worried about carrying out her duties, she takes pride in doing her job well.

Crites always loved to bake. When she was growing up, she didn't eat bread from the store until she was 13. "My mother always made everything homemade and we always took pie to school in our lunchboxes."

Crites is proud of having always been at junior high school. She makes the hot rolls, cakes and cookies and also gets the salads and fruit prepared for serving. It has always been her goal to try to get it to taste like food from home. When she's able, Crites makes special goodies like peanut butter or cherry coffee cake.

"We don't get cherries too often, but we always have peanut butter," she said. Sometimes she meets former patrons in the stores and around town. "It's nice to be recognized."

In the beginning, Crites worked for four years as a part-time cashier and was able to be home when her children were finished with their school day. When she found out that a baker's job would be opening up, she went for it and has been at for 19 years.

"The cafeteria we're sitting in used to be a courtyard," she said. "It was nice to look at and offered a lot more light."

If she has any reservations about retiring, they would be missing the children she serves, the teachers and, of course, her co-workers.

"After working with people so long, you come to know them so well that they're close to you," she said.

Some of the things Crites plans to do when she retires are: gardening, crocheting and traveling. She belongs to the First Baptist Church and plans to take advantage of the monthly trips the church offers. Some of her traveling adventures include seeing Alaska and Tennessee, but come June she'll be going to Hawaii!

Crites has five grandchildren, with one on the way. They range in age from two to 24, and Crites plans to spend some good, quality time with them during retirement.