MONROE — Ann Siegel worked at Northside Elementary School for 50 years and, at the end of this past school year, decided to retire. She is most known for being the librarian at the school, but that’s not how she started out.

“I was hired just as an aide for all the teachers to bring things in, and we would correct papers for them; if they had projects that they needed done, we would cut strips of paper or whatever they needed. We would work occasionally one-on-one with students that needed help,” she said.

For 3 or 4 years, she worked in the district as an aide before moving on to working solely in the library at Northside.

“I was kind of a budget cut in between being an aide and going into the library. I did happen to get married that year, and then they asked me if I wanted to come back because there was a position in the library and I thought ‘oh that would be interesting’ so I came in for an interview and I got the job and had been there from that point on,” she said.

Apart from just technological changes to the school and library, there were some other changes throughout the years that she had to adapt to.

“We still have programs, but now it’s changed. Way back when, we had the SRA Program, where the kids would come in and do a reading program. Then we had the LMC Director and me as an aide and the teacher as well, and the kids would come in and check out their books, and then they would do this program when they were in there,” she said. “Since then, we’ve gone to like Makerspace now, and they have to come in and do touch typing. After they checked out their books, one week we would do Makerspace, a couple weeks we’d do touch typing where they had to practice their typing, and then there was just a free week where they could just come in and sit down to actually read their books.”

There were many things that Ann enjoyed about her job, but her favorite part was helping the kids.

“I loved interacting with the kids, and anything that the teachers needed I would assist them in any way. It was just fun to see the kids that really, really wanted to read and check out books, and I always tried to instill in them the love of reading and tried to help them find books that were just right for them in terms of reading level and passions,” she said.

It can be difficult sometimes to find a job you truly love, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case for Ann.

“I loved going back every year. I know sometimes it’s a struggle for some to go back, but it was something I always looked forward to because I’d have the summer to enjoy, and I’d always look forward to going back to work and seeing the kids again. Those kids coming in that are so excited to be back; I will miss that,” she said. “It was a job that I absolutely loved, so I will miss it tremendously.”

When you have a job you love so much, it can be difficult to retire, she said, and that isn’t a decision people in this position tend to take lightly.

“There were budget cuts, and they were putting me in a position where I’d have to go back and forth between two schools. There was a person in the position who was cut, and she needed the job, so since I was basically at retirement age, I thought that with the 50 years I had in it was a good time to retire and to give her a job because she did need the job,” she said. “Plus, I was looking forward to the freedom after 50 years of working nonstop and not missing many days at all. I was looking forward to just having time to myself.”

Although she’ll miss the excitement of working during the school year, Ann doesn’t think she’ll have any trouble finding things to keep her busy during retirement.

“We have vacations planned, we’re big volleyball advocates, so we go to the UW volleyball games; that’s huge on our agenda,” she said. “So yeah, I have vacations and my daughter is getting married this year, so that will be huge with planning for that. We also have a bunch of house projects we’re going to work on and I enjoy doing crafts so I’m looking forward to that.”

While the decision to retire wasn’t an easy one, the memories she made will always be dear to her.

“It’s been a tremendous and great experience, and I absolutely loved working with the people that I worked with, working with the kids. It was just an experience that I’ll never forget, and I don’t regret not one day, not one year that I’ve ever been there. Working with the community and everything has just been wonderful,” she said.