Arlen Brekke Retires From Red Lake County Central High School

By Erin Jones

April 19, 2018 was Arlen Brekke’s last day unlocking the school doors, sweeping and mopping, and checking the boiler room plus his many other custodial duties at Red Lake County Central High School in Oklee.

Brekke started working at Oklee High School as a custodian during the spring of 1993. He also had worked part-time in 1992.  He took some time off for a few months for another job.  Brekke couldn’t remember when he came back to the school, but he remembered over ten of the custodians he had worked with in the past.  This included Elmer Hanson, Ambrose Bergeron, LeRoy Hruby, Gin Berns, Ivy Hahn, Carol Bright, Joyce Paquin, Selmer Christianson, Jeff Matson, Lori Voeltz, Patty Hallock, Bruce Landmann, and some students that had worked during the summer.  

In 1996, Brekke had taken over the role of head custodian.  Some of the work that he is required to do includes maintenance custodial work and engineering for the high school’s boiler room.  Brekke then mentioned that since he was the only one in the school that had a license to work with the school’s boiler, only he could work on those jobs.  

Brekke arrived at the school every day at 5:30 a.m.  After a full day’s work, he left the school at 2:30 p.m.  Brekke had previously worked evenings, and the latest time that Brekke and another janitor had left the school was 3:00 in the morning, only to come back to work a couple of hours later.

When he was asked about how the heating system had changed over the years, he said that there wasn’t much of a change.  As for other changes that have occurred at the school, Brekke mentioned that he watched the students grow up and the staff come and go.

Even though Brekke has worked at RLCC for many years, he has said that there weren’t really any problems that he dealt with, “just normal stuff.”  However, he joked that Marlin should quit dropping kids off at school! In addition, Brekke also said that one of tasks he wouldn’t miss was shoveling snow.  

One of the highlights of working at the school was working with the staff.  One of humorous happenings that Brekke was a part of was a prank that he pulled on April Fool’s Day last year.  He had switched the handle of staff refrigerator from one side to the other.  That same day, the staff reached for the handle, only to find that it was on the opposite side of the fridge door. 

After retirement, Brekke plans to “wake up with nothing to do and take all day to do it.”

Brekke enjoys playing instruments such as the fiddle, hunting and fishing, small grain farming with his sons and tending to his cattle.

Happy Retirement, Arlen, and many thanks from everyone at RLCC for all your work and dedication to the RLCC School!