Troy custodian retires after 26 years at 5 Troy 30-C schools

When Laurie Harrison began working as a custodian at Troy Shorewood Elementary School in 1995, there were only three schools in Troy Community School District 30-C. She retired last month from the district that now has seven schools. Her career with Troy began and ended at Troy Shorewood Elementary, and the school’s staff and students honored her retirement with an indoor parade.

"It has been a joy to have Laurie as a part of our Shorewood family,” Troy Shorewood Principal Sherri Blanchette said. “Our students and staff were honored to be able to celebrate Laurie, her work and her dedication to Troy. We will miss her, and we wish her all the best."

Harrison also worked at Troy Middle School, William B. Orenic Intermediate School, Troy Crossroads Elementary School (before it was renamed Troy Cronin), and Troy Heritage Trail Elementary School.

Over the past 26 years, Harrison has seen a lot of changes in the district’s schools. One is the advent of computers. Computer labs had desktop computers, and more recently, students were issued their own individual laptops.

“I saw them come in, and I saw them go out,” she said.

She kept the schools clean for years, and the last two years, also helped implement Covid-19 regulations to sanitize the spaces.

Scrubbing the scuff marks off the flooring used to take up a good amount of her time, and now Shorewood Elementary is Troy’s first school to replace the tiles with vinyl plank flooring, which does not scuff.

Troy Facilities and Operations Director Ben Hettel said he is sad to see her go.

“Laurie was our veteran employee,” Hettel said. “She set the bar for us and has been that ‘constant’ in our buildings. She was always top notch.”

Hettel added that Harrison took pride in her job.

“She took an extreme amount of pride in Troy and in what she did,” he said, “and she was a true professional in her industry and in her trade.”

The thing she’ll miss most, Harrison said, is her co-workers, whom she described as a great group of people. An evening custodian, she was only able to interact with students for a short time each day, but she said that was another part of her job that gave her great enjoyment.