The action that can occur at the Butler County Courthouse and the resulting stress may lead some to believe that this atmosphere could lower one's life expectancy, but for one woman, it may be the secret to her longevity.

Helen Knauer, 94, of Butler, on most days can be spotted behind her desk in the Clerk of Courts office.

“You just get up in the morning and get going,” Knauer said. “Just keep moving.”

In her position, she does a lot to keep the office in order. She opens mail, delivers it to people in the office, stuffs envelopes, clips papers and puts files in order.

When she came to the job, one of the first things she worked on was discarding old records that were stored in what she called the courthouse's “third-and-a-half” floor. Many of the these documents dated back to the 1800s.

One of the things she enjoys about the job is that new paperwork never stops coming in.

“In this office, there's no finish line,” she said.

Knauer has been working in her current position since 1997, but she started working at the courthouse in 1983, as a tipstaff.

In her time as a tipstaff, she kept courtrooms in line, kept tabs on jurors and made sure that the attorneys and court reporter were in the courtroom before the judge came in.

“When you call the judge, that's the final thing,” Knauer said.

Much of her work at that time revolved around jurors, making sure they knew what they were doing.

“You have to make them comfortable,” Knauer said.

During trials when the jury was sequestered, Knauer usually stayed at the Days Inn on Route 8 along with the jurors.

Knauer recalled a time when all of the jurors at a trial came down with an illness, and she had to go out and buy cough medicine.

Doing things like this allowed her to become close to some jurors during their brief time together.

“I still hear from some of my jurors,” Knauer said.

Her time working as a tipstaff was her first “real” job. Before that, she raised her four children. Additionally, she has eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

She retired as a tipstaff in 1997, but she started working again a few months later. Knauer got to know Clerk of Courts Lisa Lotz during her previous job, which made the new job easy to settle into.

Even at her age, she still works 16 hours a week, usually spread over three or four days. She does take a few days off per month to play bridge, though. She credits her job for keeping her active.

“This has kept me going for a good many years,” Knauer said. “It's on account of Lisa that I'm still around.”

Lotz feels the same way about Knauer.

“I don't know what we would do without her,” Lotz said.

In addition to making the office run more smoothly, Knauer makes the people who work there happier, Lotz said.

“Everybody just loves Helen,” Lotz said. “Helen gives us a lot of helpful advice.”

Many of the people who work in the clerk of courts office would agree with that.

Secretary Nadine Schorr said Knauer's advice and attitude are a key to success.

“If you follow what she does, you'll do fine,” Schorr said.

Tammy Thibodeau, a clerk, agreed with Schorr: “I think she's wonderful and she's a huge help to me.”

Ashley Cammisa, an accounts clerk, said working with Knauer “brightens her day.”

“We need more Helens,” she said.