“I come from a big family and like the contact with senior citizens,” said Dr. Vickey Hodnik of Homer Dental Center. “I’ve known Gloria for years and years and just love her to pieces. ... Her handwriting is beautiful. Her spelling is meticulous. We’ve realized a whole scope of things she can do.”

Isenhour benefits directly from Lord’s expertise.

“She’s able to help me with a lot of tasks that I put off until I have time to do, the tasks you put off for a rainy day and the rainy day doesn’t come,” she said.

Leslie Coffing, Lord’s daughter, also works at Homer Dental Center. Seeing her mother as a co-worker is a new facet of the mother-daughter relationship.

“It’s a good feeling to know that people are so happy to see her,” Coffing said. “And it’s good for Mom not having me tell her what to do. Connie’s her supervisor. She’s responsible for keeping Mom going on her chores. I’ve got my own things to do. So I just check on her every once in awhile, take her snacks and make sure she has something to drink.”

Lord has lived in Homer since 1965. She spent several years working at Paul Banks Elementary School and was friends with the school’s janitor from whom the school gets its name. Prior to retiring, Lord worked as a recorder in the State of Alaska Recorder’s Office in Homer. Her years in Homer are an additional bonus to the workplace.

“We have a lot of senior patients and most of them know Mom,” Leslie said.

Isenhour even has people for Lord’s schedule.

“At a basketball game the other night, people asked when she’d be in,” a laughing Isenhour said. “We encourage people to come in and visit with her.”

Lord’s smile, the sparkle in her eyes, the tan she soaked up on a recent trip to Las Vegas and her sharp sense of humor undermine any notion of putting senior citizens on the shelf. That message is received loud and clear by Hodnik and her staff.

“People come by, see her and ask what she’s doing. She tells them she’s got a job,” Hodnik said. “I see the (staff) visiting with her, giving her a pat, see what she’s doing. It’s like a family affair.”

Ten years Lord’s junior, Kay Sebade works full-time at the Homer Senior Center.

“I don’t feel it, don’t look it and don’t act it,” Sebade said of being a senior citizen.

After retiring from Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health, Sebade discovered she couldn’t stretch her Social Security check from month to month. After moving to Homer and while volunteering at Friendship Terrace, Sebade became involved with MASST, the state’s Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training program.

Known on the federal level as the Senior Community Service Employment Program, MASST provides training and part-time paid work experience opportunities for low-income individuals at least 55 years of age. It also helps Alaska retain the resources older workers bring to the marketplace. Program participants work an average of 20 hours a week and are paid the highest of federal, state or local minimum wage, or the prevailing wage, according to information provided by Rita Bowen, the state’s MASST coordinator.

Fred Lau, administrator of the Homer Senior Center, noticed Sebade’s work and he offered her full-time employment at the center in April.

“This is a great place to work. Fred’s the greatest boss in the world. … And the people I work with, the seniors here, are wonderful,” Sebade said. “Working keeps you young and active. I enjoy working and have worked all my life. Sometimes (working) is a matter of necessity. Sometimes it’s because we want to. Sometimes it’s a case of both.”

Thanks to the MASST program, the Anchor Point Public Library hired Linda Conrad, 56, in September.

“She can work up to 20 hours a week, and it doesn’t cost us anything. We pay her and then are reimbursed (by MAAST),” said Lora Craig, the Anchor Point librarian who is training Conrad to be a librarian. “She really likes it and is a real go-getter, so it’s keeps me hopping.”

Conrad said programs like MASST are helping tear down prejudices.

“I have talked to some people that said they’re afraid older people are set in their ways and won’t follow directions, so they don’t want to hire older people,” she said. “These programs help get seniors employed and that gives us a much better position to go from there to another job. Employers look at you much more seriously.”

Lau knows and values what seniors like Lord, Sebade and Conrad bring to the workplace.

“The biggest value is that they have all that experience already and they’re dedicated,” Lau said.

Lord’s attitude is the perfect example.

“I can do anything they want me to do,” she said.

Her preference for alphabetizing is well known by her co-workers. So is her aversion to at least one task, which she has successfully avoided.

“Want to get on the phone?” Isenhour asked, knowing what the answer would be.

“No,” Lord said.

End of story.