TOWAMENCIN: The year was 1944. Turbulent times were coming to a close as the Second World War was looming towards its end, but with an imminent closure comes a new beginning, as this was the year when North Penn cafeteria worker, Mrs. Kathleen Perry was born. After a short stint in the 80s here at the high school, Perry returned in 2001 and her favorite part undoubtedly has been the students and the effect she can have.
“The students, they’re very mannerly and nice, and when they come in you never know what they’re going through. So if someone comes in and they got a frown on, I’ll smile and say ‘Can I have a smile today?’ Nine out of ten times they smile,” Perry shared.
With her long career at North Penn, Perry has seen generations of students come and go and saw many changes. One of the most important and significant changes that she witnessed was how students interacted with each other.
“We have more and more students all the time and I think since Covid everybody has been different, they’re nicer, they’re kinder; somewhere along the line they’re telling people to be kind, ” Perry stated. “Even though I’m 80 years old I learn something new every single day of my life!”
In her years, Perry has seen a couple of different workplaces. But the determining factor in choosing to come back to North Penn was the birth of her granddaughter.
Family is a large part of every person’s household, and Perry is no exception. With her bustling household, it’s only evident that family is one of the most, if not the most important aspect of her life.
“In my house, I have my daughter’s fiance, my daughter, their dog, then her daughter, my grandson and his dog. My granddaughter just moved in with her two little girls and her two cats. So in my house, I have four generations, how could I ask for anything better than that?” Perry explained
Perry enjoys doing a variety of things outside of North Penn, including reading, watching TV and doing sudoku puzzles. In addition to these activities, she wants to find an outlet to be more productive with her time
“Now every day after I get done working in the lunchroom, I go over and monitor the [special needs] buses. I love it. I go home and now I have all this extra energy, whereas I used to fall asleep! I love my job, I get them to sing, I tell them stories. I would ride this bus every day for free, that’s how much I love this job,” Perry explained
With the time that she hopes to continue working at North Penn being unknown, she knows to appreciate every moment North Penn has to offer her, and remembers the wonderful times she had here. Her presence in the cafeteria is appreciated and her love for the students is crystal clear.