March 15, 2000
Spink hangs up mop at Silver Lake
TCAPS custodian retires after 30 years
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Thirty years can go by in the blink of an eye, Tom Spink has found.
The head custodian at Silver Lake Elementary for the past 13 years, Spink is hanging up his mop and stowing his tools to retire after three decades as a custodian with Traverse City Area Public Schools.
With great fanfare, students, staff and administrators at Silver Lake Elementary bade him farewell last Friday. They threw two parties in his honor, made him a throne and a crown and showered him with cards and hugs. The school lunch menu also sported a Spink Burger and Spink Sticks with fries for lunch.
Having a burger named after him is an honor to the man students refer to as 'Papa Smurf,' he enjoys the joshing if it helps brighten everyone's day.
"The kids are fun and we have a real good staff to work with," said Spink, a native of Charlevoix. "You get mad at a few of the kids but on the whole some are just looking for someone to talk to; I tell them that if they have a problem they can come back and talk to me about it."
Whether it is having an extra ear to listen to them or someone to share a joke with, students at Silver Lake have counted on Spink being there every day.
"The kids love him, he jokes around with them and talks to them," said Tari Smith, a teaching assistant at the school, whose daughter is in the fourth-grade there.
Principal Chuck Chase found Spink's rapport with students a huge asset to the school, especially for students.
"He is an excellent custodian, the best I have worked with in 13 years as principal," said Chase, who has been at Silver Lake for 2 years. "He helps kids who are in need of an alternative to the classroom; last year he worked with a student for part of one day a week. He is another hand we can use here in our work."
Spink's career as a custodian started in 1970 when a friend recommended Spink join the staff after he was laid off from a roofing job. He came onboard as a night custodian at Sabin Elementary. Over the years, he worked at many schools around the region, including Cherry Knoll, Central High School, Interlochen and Glenn Loomis. He also spent five years working in the district's warehouse and two years in general maintenance. He came to Silver Lake Elementary in 1987, the year it opened, taking the position of head custodian.
For 13 years, his school days began at 6:30 a.m., when he came to check out the school and unlock the doors. A quick cleaning of the gym, locker rooms and art or music room started the day, followed by helping the kitchen crew set up for breakfast.
During the rest of the day, he fixed the odds and ends that broke around the school. He also helped with lunch and cleaned or worked on the grounds, snowblowing in the winter and mowing in the warmer months. Summers always found Spink and a helper cleaning the school from top to bottom, resetting rooms as necessary.
But this year, Spink realized he needed a change of scene and decided to retire. However, the avid fisher and hunter is not letting any grass grow under his feet. His last day at the school was Monday and by Monday evening he started work at the Burger King at Grand Traverse Crossing- cleaning the restaurant after hours.
"I have a mother here now who was a student when I was at Cherry Knoll," said Spink, a Charlevoix native who spent three years in the Air Force, including a stint in Vietnam. "Her kids are here at Silver Lake. When you run into that, you know you are getting old. I just needed a change."