After 30 years as Pateros School cook, Rosie Tonseth hangs up her spatula

It was one of those breaks that came along at just the right time; Rosie Tonseth needed a job and Pateros School needed a cook. That break turned into a job that lasted for 30 years.

Actually a little longer than that; "30.25 years," Rosie said. It was so long they couldn't fit it on the commemorative plaque on the clock Rosie got at her retirement party in February. (A serious illness forced Roise to retire during the 2007-08 school year, and her illness delayed her retirement party until mid-February 2009.)

"I was trying to count up the other day, how many superintendents I've worked for," she said. (For the record, the answer is nine, Rosie said.)

Rosie was a single mom with three kids and the job at school was perfect, she said - she could be home when her kids were home. She started working at school in 1978. That was in the old Pateros school, the one that had been around since the 1920s or so, and the kitchen was just as old as the rest of the building. "It was very old," Rosie remembered; the stove was military surplus and the freezers had been there since the start of the school lunch program back in the 1950s. "I was the cook. I was the only cook up until about three years ago," she said.

Back in 1978 the school only served lunch and she was serving about 98 kids, she said. "I worked and worked and worked and got it up over 200," she remembered. Even with the antiquated equipment there were things about working in the kitchen in those days that were kind of fun; there was time to make some food from scratch, the chili and rolls and cakes. The prepackaged stuff back in those days didn't attract many customers. "We pretty much had to serve what the government sent us, and what the government sent us wasn't very good," she said.

Prepackaged food became more important as time went on and she started serving breakfast and added more choices and a salad bar at lunch. (Some of the prepackaged foods, like grated cheese, are just good ideas for busy school cooks, she said.) There's also a lot of paperwork involved in the lunch program, and there was more paperwork as time went on; school lunches have to fit within pretty stringent nutrition guidelines, and the cook has to keep track of it all. "They're tough on the fat grams," Rosie said.

But over time there was more stuff kids liked - corn dogs and chicken nuggets and hamburgers and pizza. Rosie always wrote her own menus, and she could tailor the food choices to the students. There's no tougher audience anywhere than the children in the lunch line. "It's tough feeding kids, because they think you should cook for their taste," Rosie said. And they don't always like the food the government nutrition chart says they should like.

The old kitchen was remodeled with the high school in the early 1980s; it was expanded and Rosie got a new stove with a double oven and a big mixer, and later a new freezer. "It was sure nice to get that big walk-in freezer," even though it didn't fit in the building and is set up outside the back door. The old dishwasher was replaced a few years ago - it dated from before Rosie's time in the kitchen.

It was a fun job, Rosie said, although like any job "there were days you come home pulling your hair out." It was very convenient for a working single mom, she said. And "I liked the kids, especially the little ones, because they've always got funny things to say." It was always fun to come back to school at the end of the summer and see how much all the kids grew, she said. Rosie worked at the school so long she watched many children grow from kindergarten through high school, she said. "Now I see them with their babies. It makes you feel very old."

Most of the teachers and aides were good colleagues, she said. "I liked the people I worked with," and most of her bosses were pretty good guys. It was a good job. "I liked it."

Rosie said she's still recovering from her illness; "I have to learn what my limits are. I'll get there." (Rosie was so sick there were a couple of times the doctors weren't sure she was going to make it, she said.) And it'll probably still be a while before she can start working on all her retirement projects - she wants to spend time with her six grandchildren, and she really wants to work in the yard of her house in Methow, and she loves crafts.

But retirement already has some provided some benefits. "It's just nice to know you can do what you want to do when you want to do it," she said, going someplace or staying home as she pleases. And if she wants to she can sleep in - there's no need to get up to be to work at 4:30 a.m., she said.