(Photos provided by Suzy Haberman)
Usually, when birthdays roll around, the lucky lady or gentleman will have a party thrown in their honor.
Well, not only did Lane Hartfiel – a custodian with Trinity Lutheran School for 15 years – get to celebrate his 65th birthday with a surprise party at Trinity on Friday, January 16. But he also enjoyed his last day of work, as after that day, he became a retired man. What a gift, looking forward to retirement on your birthday.
At roughly 2:45 p.m., the students and staff lined up along the hallway leading to the Trinity gym, awaiting the man of the hour’s arrival. When he did, he was all smiles. The walk of fame proceedings led to him receiving a sign made by some students, including a few from teacher Ingrid Huelsnitz’s class. In addition, he received some presents. To be humorous, some of the presents were in a trash can, meaning that he had to “take out the trash” one last time.
signatures from Trinity students.
Hartfield began his career at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton in the fall of 1989 as an evening custodian. After working evenings, he took the opportunity to accept a day shift at the Waldorf Middle School. While he enjoyed his time at JWP, Hartfiel had a difficult choice when the Waldorf school closed: go back to the evening shift with the school he loved so much or take the newly open position at Trinity. He chose the latter, and the rest is history.
In his over 35 years as a custodian, many have had nothing but nice things to say about him. He is known for his work ethic and for keeping to himself. He did kindly turn down an interview with the Independent. However, Mrs. Huelsnitz took an interview in his place, stating, “It’s okay for him to be shown off. He deserves it after doing so much for Trinity and JWP!”
She can testify to his kindness and his willingness to keep Trinity clean and running smoothly. According to Huelsnitz, his favorite phrase is that he wants to make sure the teachers “are taken care of.”
“He always makes sure the environment is what it needs to be for the students to be successful,” she added. “He’s made it a point to form personal relationships with the kids. He’s memorized their names and has always interacted with them positively. It’s the same with the staff. If I need something, he jumps right in.”
Huelsnitz’s class has several favorite memories. But one always comes around every year. “We have a lot of traditions with him, but one is that we make pumpkin pancakes every year. He always came in near the end to get his pancakes. We always made sure to let him know when it’s Pumpkin Pancake Day.”
One thing that many will miss about Hartfiel is his “humble and gentle spirit.” “He comes in and doesn’t need to have people praise and glorify him,” Huelsnitz elaborated. “He does what needs to be done.”
She chuckled a bit as she continued her sentence. “It’s hilarious to watch him work. He has a strict schedule. You can always count on him to be in the same spot, whether it’s 7:30 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. He has a routine, and you can count on him being right on it every step of the day…unless, of course, there’s a crisis.”
The celebration not only covered the man he was at Trinity, but also in the community. “He’s always quietly in the background taking care of things,” Huelsnitz said. “He doesn’t want accolades, but he deserves them just because of the man he is.”
Congratulations to Lane Hartfiel on his retirement. Whatever his plans are, may he enjoy them. Perhaps someone will take out his trash for a change. Then again, he probably wouldn’t have it any other way.
