BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org

Mary Birdsong hung up her grocery store smock for the last time last Thursday, bringing the end to a career that lasted 32 years.

Birdsong, a lifelong Cherryvale resident, officially retired as the dayshift clerk at G&W Foods — a position she held ever since she was hired by the late Mack Haynes at Town and Country Supermarket. That was 32 years ago (or 17 store managers ago, she jokingly says), a time when Birdsong was hoping only for a part-time job as a grocery store clerk.

Little did she know that the part-time job would lead her to 32 years as a full-time clerk, where she got to know thousands of Cherryvale-area residents.

“Many of the kids that I first met back in 1978 have kids or grandkids of their own today,” she said. “So, I’ve seen three, maybe even four generations of family members go through the store.”

Birdsong said she does not plan on doing the “typical” retirement routine: traveling, seeing grandkids, or taking on a new hobby. Instead, she said she looked forward to propping her feet in her favorite living room chair and maybe read a few books that she has been wanting to pour herself into over the years.

“I’ve spent lots of time away from home,” she said. “Now, I just want to go home, sit in my chair and relax.”