'She keeps going' At 100, she still inspires
For most people, celebrating a milestone 100th birthday means taking it easy. In Helen Knauer's case, it meant going to work Monday.
Knauer, who still puts in 32-hour weeks in the Butler County Clerk of Courts office, insisted on coming to work for her birthday.
She enjoys being a clerk in the row office.
“I like this job,” Knauer said. “I like all these people.”
She praised Clerk of Courts Lisa Lotz for being a good boss.
Lotz, in turn, heaped praise on the dedicated employee.
“She is, as I always say, an inspiration,” Lotz said.
She said Knauer puts in more than her share of time, filing paperwork and working with bank statements.
“She always ends up working longer,” Lotz said.
When people are eligible for retirement, Knauer began working for Butler County Court as a tipstaff, a court attendant aiding a judge, for Judge John Brydon in 1983.
After Brydon retired, Knauer joined the Clerk of Courts office in 1997.
Lotz, who took office in 1994, said Knauer was a boon in the early days of her tenure, helping her become acclimated to various court processes.
“She would hold my hand,” Lotz said.
Knauer said she is not ready to retire quite yet.
“I'm going to hang around as long as Lisa lets me,” she said.
County President Judge Thomas Doerr recalled a conversation with Knauer from a couple years ago.
“She said, 'Don't let me hold you up,'” Doerr said. “I said, 'Helen, you're walking faster than everybody else. You never stay in one place.'”
Doerr praised Knauer for being a positive influence in the courthouse.
“She never quits,” he said. “She keeps going. She has great attitude. She's just uplifting to be around.”
Lotz erroneously believed Knauer would want to be off on her birthday.“She said, 'It's my birthday, I'm coming in,'” Lotz said.Lotz said they joked about having Knauer escorted to work Monday. Sheriff Mike Slupe decided to make that idea a reality.He picked up Knauer in a limousine from her Lamar Village residence in Butler.“We tried to do very special things for her,” Slupe said. “None of us are going to be that young age and still work.”Slupe arranged for some of his deputies and Butler police to provide a multivehicle escort to the courthouse on Diamond Street.“I had a grandiose idea,” he said.Butler Chief Ron Brown agreed a 100-year-old deserved the recognition.“That's special and still be working,” Brown said.Knauer was touched to see all the employees from her office and county Prothonotary Glenna Walters' office standing on the street to welcome her arrival after 9 a.m.Walters said Knauer was a wonderful lady.“I'm overwhelmed,” Knauer said later in the morning. “I just can't believe it.”She did not see the need for a fuss, though.“I don't like being a celebrity,” Knauer said. “I like to be one of the crowd.”However, she conceded reaching 100 was noteworthy. “It's really something I lived this long,” Knauer said.Her longevity is not only appreciated by those at work. Knauer's daughter, Joanne Heim, who is 83, said her mother is a special lady.“She's been a really special mother,” Heim said. “I've been blessed.”Like mother, like daughter — Heim also still works. In her case, the employer is the Butler Area Sewer Authority.“I look at my mother and I'm afraid to retire,” Heim said.Heim said she is proud of her mother. “It makes you feel good as a daughter,” she said.Ashley Cammisa, who also works in the Clerk of Courts office, summed up well-wishers' sentiments regarding Knauer.“We need more people in the world like her,” Cammisa said.
