SCHOOLS: MAINTENANCE MAN ENDS 46 YEARS ON JOB

As teachers go about the business of educating Cape Girardeau students, one man has gone about the business of making sure the buildings don't stand in the way of instruction.

That man, maintenance supervisor Calvin Brennan Sr., retires today after 46 years with the Cape Girardeau school district.

He has worked those years on one "crisis" after another, from ceiling leaks to sewer troubles in the district's 10 buildings. It hasn't been glamorous, but it's been enjoyable and important, Brennan said.

He supervises four maintenance people and works with 38 custodians.

"It's a $40 million plant," said business manager Larry Dew. "He supervises everything from heating and ventilation to grass mowing and the paint crew. He oversees snow removal and has been out during floods. It's a 24-hour day.

"He has a lot of information in his head about the buildings. There is so much he knows that is not in a set of blueprints," Dew said. "He will still make that knowledge available to us."

Brennan, 67, began working for the school district July 1, 1946.

"I was just out of the service and looking for a job," he said. "Mr. Schultz (then superintendent) put me on temporarily."

He was one of the district's two school bus drivers.

"Back then, we only had two school buses," Brennan said, "one for the white kids and one for the black kids. I drove the bus for the white kids."

When his driving duties were finished for the day, he helped his father, John Brennan, who was also the district's maintenance chief.

When his father retired about 10 years later, Brennan took over the job.

"I never did take it just as a job. It has been something I've enjoyed doing," Brennan said. "And there is something different every day.

"It's the plumbing, the heating, the electrical, the sewers," he said.

When needed, experts are called in for repairs. But Brennan is the first line of attack on maintenance problems.

With 10 buildings to deal with, sometimes more than one problem arises at the same time, Brennan explained.

"And everybody wants to be first," he said. "But I try to pick out the most important jobs and do those first. I learned to just take one day at a time, and it's been very enjoyable most of the time."

His position doesn't bring him in contact with students very often, but he knows his work has an impact on them.

"In my years, I've helped to graduate about 13,000 or 14,000 students." He has made sure the auditorium was ready, chairs and podium in order, for the ceremonies.

For the Brennan family, working for Cape Girardeau Public Schools has become a tradition.

In addition to Brennan's father, who worked in the school district, Brennan's son, Calvin Jr., is the district's warehouse supervisor.

"In all I would say our family has about 75 years of service to the public schools," he said. "That's a goodly number of years."

His retirement plans include working on a long list of projects at home.

"We'll also do some traveling and spend time with the grandkids," he said.

Brennan said working for the school district has provided a rewarding career over the years.

"It's been a challenge, always a challenge, but I've been at it long enough," he said. "It's time to retire."