Lunch: a labor of love for Wells

WINSTED — For more than 40 years, Phyllis Wells has been an integral part of The Gilbert School community, serving as the semi-private high school’s food services director since she took over the post in the late 1970s.

But after serving as a staple in the school’s kitchen for decades and feeding three generations of students, the Barkhamsted resident will retire from Gilbert at the end of this month.

“I love my job as much today as the first day I started,� Wells told The Journal during an interview at her office last Thursday.

Wells began her food service career a few years after she and her husband, Jim, moved from their native Vermont to Winsted a short time after being married in 1959.

“We moved down here because there was no work for us up there,� she said.

After working at various odd jobs the first few years after the move, Wells took a temporary position at Gilbert during the 1966-67 school year.

“It was in the dish room, and I was only supposed to be here for three month,� Wells said. “It was the perfect opportunity, and I’ve been here ever since.�

During her first 10 years at the school, Wells worked under the close eye of Barbara McKie, who at that time was the district’s food services director.

“She was a great, great teacher,� Wells said, adding that McKie had been the school’s first food services director. “She is a special lady.�

One of the main benefits of working at the school was being close to her three children, each of whom graduated from Gilbert, as well as having a work schedule that mirrored their school schedule.

“It was the perfect scenario for a mother,� Wells said of working in the school.

She said the most difficult part of taking over for McKie was not the actual cooking or managing a kitchen that at that time fed some 750 children, but the administrative aspect of the post.

“It was learning all the government regulations, the bookkeeping ... and all the paperwork. It was like so many other administrative jobs,� she said.

Over the years, those state and federal public school food service requirements have continued to grow. Wells said that has made cooking nutritious, as well as delicious, meals for students more and more difficult.

And for many children, she said, their school lunch is the one main meal they eat each day.

“You can make the most nutritionally well-balanced meal you can make,â€� Wells said. “But if you can’t get a student to eat it, what have you accomplished?  Nothing but waste.â€�

State and federal laws already limit the amounts of fat and sugar student lunches can contain. Wells said there will soon be restrictions on the amount of salt that can be used to season a meal as well.

“Now, with all the restrictions coming down, it just became too hard to do that,� Wells said.

She decided it was time to retire from her position at the school and perhaps try her hand at something new.

But Wells’ years of service to The Gilbert School community have not gone unrecognized. The class of 2010 has decided to dedicate this year’s yearbook to the retiring director.

“I was very shocked and honored,� she said of the dedication, adding that over the years, she has also been lucky to work with a professional and talented staff.

“I never dread coming to work,� she said. “And Gilbert is a very special place to work.�

Although Wells said she would like to find work in a field that’s not necessarily food related, with most of her professional career in the kitchen, that might be difficult.

Still, Wells said, she is excited about the new opportunities the future  may hold for her.

“The door’s wide open and anything is possible,� she said. “But I know I am going to miss coming up that hill to Gilbert next September.�