Lake City longevity
Linda Barnhart, kitchen assistant at Lake City Center, clears coffee mugs from a dish table in Lake City Center on Oct. 21. Barnhart celebrated 30 years of working at the center on Oct. 12.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
Linda Barnhart, of Hayden, has been washing dishes and keeping Lake City Center's kitchen sparkling clean for 30 years. She celebrated her anniversary Oct. 12. She is seen here Oct. 21.
Lake City Center kitchen assistant Linda Barnhart was celebrated by her colleagues Oct. 12 when she reached a milestone of 30 years working at the center. She originally found the job through Tesh, Inc., which connects people with disabilities to opportunities in their community. "She's a prime example of how wonderful our clients are when they have the right match," Tesh Vice President Terri Johnson said.
If you ask Linda Barnhart if she has to do dishes at home, she can't help but laugh a little bit.
“Yeah, I do do dishes,” she said, smiling.
On Oct. 12, Barnhart, of Hayden, celebrated her 30th anniversary working at Lake City Center in Coeur d'Alene.
She was 30 when she started as a dishwasher for the center in 1990, back when George H.W. Bush was president and Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" owned the airwaves.
“I was young then,” she said, chuckling. “It was a lot different. Everything was smaller then."
Barnhart, now 60, is a Silver Valley girl who graduated from Kellogg High School. She recalls when she first got the job.
"I started toward Columbus Day,” she said. "I was working at Tesh at the time, and they're the ones that told me about the job here and they helped me get the job here, so that’s how I got it."
Lake City Center is a nonprofit center that hosts community and senior events. It serves chef-prepared meals four days a week and facilitates a Meals on Wheels mobile food program to feed home-bound seniors.
As a kitchen assistant, Barnhart loves working with "the people, the seniors and the staff."
"I’ve had different staff, but I’ve always liked all the staff they’ve had. Everybody’s friendly, the seniors," she said. "They’re really nice."
Tesh, Inc. is a nonprofit dedicated to providing choices and opportunities for people with disabilities of all ages seeking greater opportunities, self-sufficiency and participation in their communities.
Terri Johnson, vice president of Tesh, was delighted to hear one of Tesh's clients has had such success in her work. She sent a huge congratulations to Barnhart from everyone at Tesh.
"She's a prime example of how wonderful our clients are when they have the right match," Johnson said. "They are so loyal and hardworking, and I couldn't be more thrilled for her. That's just really awesome. She obviously has just a truly beautiful heart."
Lake City Center celebrated Barnhart's amazing feat of longevity during a party on her anniversary, when she received a certificate of achievement. Administrative assistant Danielle Christensen said Barnhart is "quite the assistant."
“What a reputation," she said. "We’re just so impressed with her consistency and her dedication."
