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Dishing it out for 33 years

Cowles’ loss: the departure of Jo

by John Strauss
"Working with Jo is great!"
it can be ioti degrees behind the
line and I could have a dozen other
things id rather be doing. but
working \vith Jo makes things a lot
more bearable."

“Jo is a really nice lady who's
always fun to work with “

“It just won't be the same next
year Without her. it‘s going to take
some real adjustments and some
real getting used to."

oi meat were what ivas called the
jock tables. it depended on what
sport was in season, iootball
players at the jock table in tall,
basketball players during the
winter Those guys always hated to
give up their jock tables when the
time was up.”

As tor the iood. .lo feels the
variety and quality has improved
over the years. “When l iirst
started to work here." she said,
“you could always depend on the
last meal being hash.” This in-

p.m. and the three took off, Wade
driving, Jo riding shotgun. and
Steve still proofreading in the back
seat. They drove about so miles per
hour all the way to the airport
When they got to the airport they
iound the parcel service was
closed. so they sped over to the Des
iiioines post oiiice \ihere, iinally,
they mailed the application,
Butthere's more to the story. Jo,
who was a bit hungry by now with
ill] this gallavantlng about.
suggested they grab a bite to eat

”he been on the line long enough to kiioii what's what. i really like ’m'i'ing on the line: i know a lot by
name. others i know by sightil really do enjoy working with the kids. i like to gab with the kids and

shoot back Lit lheni."

Thae are just a few oi the
testimonials Jo Ryle has been
receiving lately. Jo, who will be
retiring after 33 years of
meritorious service to the college,
is the food service lady behind the
counter at Cowles. By rough
estimation, she has single»
handedly served more than two
million happy customers.

That‘s aoa people a day, iive or
six days a week, 30 weeks a year
ior 33 years, “It’s been 33 years,
The 20th day oi February 19451 put
in my iirst day’s work. lstarted out
in the dish crew Then I came out to
the dining room to help set up
tablesithen I went behind the
line.” Jo Stated.

J0 “As seen quite a lew changes
in iood service since coming to
Grinnell Mechanical changes
have increased efficiency in Jo's
work. The original dish machine
washed only two trays at one time.
while the present machines does
dozens, The automatic coffee
maker is another change that .10
has seenia change that saves her
a great deal of time Mechanical
changes are not the only ones that
Jo has been through; she’s worked
under eight diiterent iood serVice
managers.

Jo has also seen major changes
in dining room procedures. There
onee was a coat and tie sitrdﬂwn
dinner with waiters who brought
iood to the tables tori china platest
and waitresses who served the food
at the lables. At that time Cowles
sit~down dinners were primarily
served to men, as women did their
dining at Quad, The sitrdown
dinner was phased out some time
atter Saga ta caieteria iood serr
vice) came to Grinnell in 1858.

THERE also used to be limits to
how much one could eat. In the
past students were allowed only
one entree and one serving of
potatoes, vegetables. and dessert.

j “The only ones who got two ‘pieces

 

triguing delicacy was not very
popular with the students and Jo
made it sound like something from
a mad scientist’s laboratory. Saga
started the policy oi oiiering more
than one entree, allowing students
the right to debate over a variety oi
ambrosia. FOG, which came to
Grinnell two years ago, has cons
tinued to provide more quality and
variety. according to Jo.

JO HAS helped Students out In
more ways than just giving them
plates of iood, Ask her sometime
about the Wade Lee episode. Last
year, the day before fall break,
Wade, a senior at the time, was
busily iinishing his application for
a Rhodes scholarship. He was
behind in his work (especially
since he needed to make iive copies
of all the Rhodes‘ material), but
not too worried until he realized
that his application was supposed
to be postmarked no later than
midnight that night.

it was 9:00 p.m. Wade lreaked
He went around the dorm and got
everyone he could who hadn‘t left
ior break to help copy, type, and
prooiread, Things were going
well, but getting the letter post-
marked would be a problem The
campus and town post oiiices were
closed and Ernie Renaud told
Wade he would have [0 go to the
Des Moines airport to get the
application postmarked

The only problem now was how
to get to Des liloines—no one had
an operable car, Steve Hall, one of
Wade's assistants, remembered
that Jo had told him that she just
acquired a new “hutvrod” and was
dying to try it out in desperation
they tried Jo.

SHE WAS (It-lighted! Jo said they
could take her car to Des anesi
but only on one condition: that she
could come along, Wade and Steve
were grateiul and honored.

Jo‘goi to theiloungé at about 9:30

(Photos by Karl [)iikstein.)

somewhere The trio Went to one oi
those places where the waitress
comes to the car and puts the iood
on the window. They ate burgers
and shakes. it was quite an evening
according to Steve. and Jo still
talks about “the Wild night she
spent in Des Moines with two
college men until 2:00 am." tAs
for Wadeell, he didn't get the
scholarship )

J0 "As always worked in
Cowles, She likes the kitchen at
quad better because of its windows
and ventilation, but says the view
in Cowles dining room can’t be
beat, She originally had a split shiit
that enabled her to go home aiter
meals to look after her children.
She would work breakfast, lunch
and dinner, going home between
each meal. Since her children are

grown. she now works the late
shift, either ll :00 am. to 7:00 p.m.
or 11:30 am to 7:30 pm. with one
day off, “I like that better because
I don‘t have to get up so early in the
morning," she laughs One thing do
(loesn’tlike is working six days in a
row, But it could be worse J0
remembers the unpleasant Boar's
Head suppers iood service once
had at Christmas. She would work
from 6:00 a m until she finished
late in the evening She adds. “ We
never got more than a thank you
[or that!"

What does a food Service worker
like J0 do during the summer7 .10
\iorks twice as hard during the
these months. Summers are spent
washing walls, cleaning up dorms
and getting rooms ready for the
next school year. Jo also helps out
with the conventions they hold at
the college during the summer.

ALMOST evclyoiic who Comes
through the line at Cowles knows
.lo, and Jo knows a good number ol
them. “Of course there's a fewi
(Jo is known to use some colorful
language on certain occassionst in
every bunch, but as a whole, I think
the students are pretty good kids. I
can always tell when a guy is
bitching just to be bitching and
when the guy is bitching Just to
have something to sayijust to be
talking. I’ve been on that line long
enough to know what's what i
really like serving on the line i
know a lot by name, others i know
by sight~l really do enjoy working
with the kids. I like to gab with the
kids and shoot back at them I like
the people I work withithey're all
good people."

And, in 33 years Jo has mellowed
somewhat. She used to expect
students to take off then hats
twhich was usually done
automatically) as they came
through the line, and smoking in
line was Strictly forbidden J0
philosophically states, “I iigured
this year, being my last year here,
it they wanted to wear hats through
the line they could wear their hats
i wasn't going to holler at them
Some Still take off their hatswut
oi respect I suppose.”

J0 SAYS she never had a
philosophy on life, but if she did it
would be “live it to the hilt. . . do
what you want to within reason, If
you want to take a drink take a
drink. Live life to the hiltmthat’s
the way I look at it Look on the
bright side too!"

As far as a pension goes, Jo says
that since FOG came only two
years ago, she doesn't have much
built up, Next year she Will be at
home at her apartment here in
Grinnell. ”thinking about the kids
here, and serving . , . and collece
ting on my Social security " Jo

 

Jo iii a laniiliar pose in Cowles.
cleaning the ice cream machine.

says she would really like “to come
back here to work but that doesn‘t
look likely since I turned 65 last
April,"

JO HAS lived in Grinnell Since
1933 and has raised three children
who now live in Washington,
California Lind Florida. She has 11
grandchildren. Jo had thought
about moving from Grinnell but
decided to stay because her friends
and club work are here. “If I can
stay here I’m going to stay here in
Grinnell. I like to go to visit big
cities but to live in one~uh-uhl
You can’t get around too much in
big cities. 1 like to go!" Jo is
planning on some vacationing \vith
her children. For Christmas, she
hopes to go to Caliiornia to see her
tirst great-grandchild, who is due
in July.

Until then. Jo says she'll “play
things by ear " The next thing on
her agenda is an honorary award
that the senior class is bestowing
upon her at the baccalaureate
ceremony on the 22nd “When I
found out, It just about knocked me
out!" says Jo, laughing. “it‘s
probably a booby prize, but I'll still
be scared out of my wits!”

SUMMING up her years at
Grinnell. Jo said, “I like the kids
here, I like my workithat's all
that's necessary,"

Jo Kyle, the lady who has served
almost as many people as Mc-
Donalds, who has been the strength
behind the scenes at Cowles, who
has seen bosses and students too
numerous to count come and go for
the past 33 years, will be genuinely
missed by both students and stall
next year,

liner 2 long day behind the counter, .io enjoys a break with her reilow workers. --l enjoy the people i

work with." she says, "they're all good peopi

 

