Before the Happy Meal, before McChicken and before Grimace was even introduced, Barbara Cramer brought smiles to customers as a McDonald’s employee.
Earlier this week, 53 years after she first joined the fast-food restaurant in 1970, the longtime McDonald’s employee was celebrated by her peers in Fort Pierce, Florida, where she works.
Asked what the moment meant to her, Cramer, 75, told WPTV News, “Everything.”
“I just love it here,” she added of the outlet.
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A longtime employee and “McLegend,” as those who know her called her, told WPTV News that the restaurant first offered her a job in 1970.
Since then, she has spent most of her tenure at the US Highway 1 location, as well as other locations in Florida, the paper reported.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics noted in a 2022 report that the median number of years Americans worked at their current company was 4.1 years.
But as Cramer told WPTV, and other local media reported, she never considered working anywhere else.
“I just applied for the school board, and then the next day I applied here at this store, and they called me first,” said Cramer, a New Jersey native. “So I came here, and I ended up working my way.”
Location owner Ricky Wade told Cramer at her celebration Wednesday — which included a cute sign, photos of her over the years and lots of balloons — that her friends at McDonald’s are “proud to have you as part of our family.”
“It is an honor to celebrate this special moment with you,” he said.
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Cramer’s tenure at McDonald’s has included some touching memories, including posing for pictures with Ronald McDonald himself and working with her loved ones.
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Cramer, who is “semi-retired” and works part-time at several locations, according to WPTV, said she has no plans for full retirement in the near future.
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Source: HIS Education