No way Mae

I’ve been writing this piece in my head for years.  When I took over as the school lunch director at the Arlington, VT school district I took my job very seriously. 

I started my position a few weeks before the opening day of school, cleaning, organizing, and planning my menus. I never did this type of job before so I had a lot to learn. I was lucky that I had Marty who was a school lunch director for 20+ years at that point to help guide me with all the regulations and guidelines I had to follow.

As I was cleaning I found a black and white composition notebook that had fallen back behind one of the drawers of a filing cabinet. It said Hot Lunch 1946-1947. This was an amazing discovery! A piece of Arlington history.   It gave me a chance to see what Mrs. Keough & Mrs. Ouhl served every day which was perfect timing since I was in the middle of menu planning.

As I started looking through the notebook I couldn’t believe how much information they kept track of! From the menus, quantities of ingredients used. How many students ate that day, how many milks they sold. Exactly who worked and how much their payroll cost each day. 

They did weekly and monthly summaries. Wow! This was all the stuff I was learning from Marty. I felt connected to these women who did my job 60 years before me, in the same building. 

Lunch was still served in the high school back then, it later moved across the street to the new elementary school. The newly built elementary school had a brand new fancy kitchen which I am sure was an improvement to the old one that served K-12 up until that point.

Dino was one of my buddies at school. He was a history teacher. He came in almost as early as I did in the mornings and bought a coffee and a muffin from me every day. Every day for 7 years! We had some great discussions and got to know each other pretty well while I was doing food prep and he ate.  He was everyone’s favorite cool teacher and soccer coach.

One day Dino told me about the lunch lady when he went to school right here in Arlington. He told me that everyone called her “No Way Mae.” He got a big smile on his face when he started telling me about her.

He told me that he and his classmates walked from the high school down to the elementary school where lunch was served. He also told me something that didn’t surprise me, he brought his lunch from home every day and had school lunch.

When Dino and his classmates went through the lunch line they would ask Mae if they could have seconds. Dino said she would  bellow out in a harsh raspy voice, “No way!!”

He said the kids in the dining area would crack up when they heard her voice bellowing through the hallways. 

Halloween is my favorite holiday. It’s the one holiday that the only thing anyone excepted from me was candy. I loved to dress up, it was the one day a year you could be whoever you wanted to be with no questions asked.

One year I decided to dress up as No Way Mae.  I got my costume from a thrift store at a senior center along with some uncomfortable shoes. I borrowed a wig from the theater department at school. I made a big padded butt and bought a color lipstick my grandmother wore. 

I didn’t tell anyone who I was going to be. I wanted it to be a surprise.  On Halloween, I dropped my kids off at school and quickly came back home to put on my costume.  I had to really bust my ass the day before to prep everything I needed for breakfast and lunch. 

The school had a Halloween parade in the gymnasium. All the students and teachers who dressed up would walk around in a circle after Mr. C the principal addressed the students and faculty. 

I snuck into the gym as Mae and stood off to the side where no one really saw me.  When he called everyone to participate in the parade I began to make my way across the gym floor.  

I walked hunched over like a tired old lunch lady.  It took me forever to join the circle. I knew everyone was watching me thinking who the heck is that? I found out later that neither of my sons had any idea it was me.  😂

I stayed in character all day. I even wiped the sloppy Joe we were having that day all over my apron on purpose. I told everyone “No way!” It was by far one of the best Halloween’s ever.

I really connected with Mae.  She and I leaned over the same counter serving lunches 30 years apart. We probably made some of the same dishes. Hell, the equipment and cookware were probably around in her day too. As a matter of fact, I am sure they were.

I have not spoken to Dino for quite a long time but texted him last night and asked him if I could ask a few questions about No Way Mae. He shot back a text and said sure ask away. Then I said can I call you way too much typing. LOL

I asked him to tell me the story again about No Way Mae. I wanted to make sure I remembered the story correctly. He added last night that her name was Mae DeBlock. She worked with another older lunch lady named Charlena Hilliard. He said he remembered those two in the kitchen for as long as he was in school. 

I could tell he was smiling as he was reminiscing about his school days with Mae. He did his best impression of Mae bellowing out “No way!l. He told me that sometimes the kids would keep their forks for a few days and not return them to the dirty dish bin.  They liked getting a rise out of her. 

I wonder what Mrs. Keogh, Mrs. Ouhl, Mrs. Hilliard, or Mae DeBlock would have thought about me as a lunch lady? I’m sure that they never would have expected a lunch lady to have both arms tattooed. I am sure they couldn’t imagine any woman having a tattoo, let alone one with her nose and upper lip pierced and…was a belly dancer.

I think that if they could’ve gotten over all of those things they would’ve seen that I was so much like them. I loved those kids and took great pride in feeding them good food that was made with love. I had the privilege to watch them grow up and turn into young ladies and men, just like the lunch ladies that came before me did.