Two million bags later, Larry is retiring

By TRISHA PHELPS

Mt. Pleasant News

After 38 years and an estimated 2,000,000 bags of groceries, Larry Hennessee is retiring from the Mt. Pleasant Hy-Vee Foods Store.

Hennessee started working at Mt. Pleasant Hy-Vee Foods on Aug. 17, 1976, and has been bagging groceries for customers ever since.

Joe Halferty was a manager when Hennessee began working for Hy-Vee, and Hennessee gives Halferty partial credit for teaching him strong work ethic.

?My first manager, Joe, you either did it his way or you were out,? said Hennessee.

After retirement, Hennessee looks forward to finding odd jobs to keep him busy and making time for one of his favorite summer activities ? camping and working the giant slide at the Iowa State Fair.

?I could get a lot of other stuff to do in the summer time, mowing jobs at parks and stuff like that,? said Hennessee. ?As long as I have worked at Hy-Vee, I have also worked at the big giant slide at the State Fair. I enjoy every bit of it.?

?He is a staple at the State Fair,? remarked Willy Amos, one of Hennessee?s previous managers. ?Everyone at the State Fair knows who he is. I knew him before I had ever come here (to Hy-Vee), but I just didn?t put two and two together that it was him that I had seen.?

Hennessee decided his favorite part of his job at Hy-Vee was just knowing he worked hard and did his job right.

?I will miss showing up for work and trying to do as much as I can for my job and doing it the best way I know how,? he said. ?I?ve always tried to do my best all of these years. Tom Finestead (one of the previous managers) went to a meeting one time, and he didn?t know anything about me before that. I was just outside doing one of my main jobs and he came back that first time and said he could trust me 100 percent at getting yards and trash and everything in the parking lot cleaned up.

?He said that he didn?t have to worry about me any longer,? Hennessee remembered. ?He said that he knew that I would have everything taken care of when he got back, and I did. I always did.?

While Hennessee might miss coming to work at Hy-Vee because he enjoys working hard, Hy-Vee customers will miss seeing him as well.

?Probably one of the things he is most known for is singing happy birthday to people, customers and employees,? said Amos. ?He sings it to them the same way every time. Sometimes if he doesn?t sing it to them right away they worry that maybe he is upset at them, but usually it?s just because he waits a little bit just to give them a hard time.?

?I like to get people riled up,? Hennessee said. ?I like to help the customers out as much as possible. I want to bag their groceries the right way instead of putting something on top of an item that would get smashed. I just want to do things the right way.?

To honor his 38 years, Hy-Vee is throwing a party for Hennessee on Friday, Jan. 24, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the store with coffee and cake available to the public. Hennessee will be there