>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Mike Lester sweeps and mops floors, busses tables, fills condiment containers and cleans the rest rooms at McDonald's in La Grande. (The Observer/CHRIS BAXTER).

- Bill Rautenstrauch

- The Observer

The world could take a lesson from Mike Lester, the man who makes sure, day in and day out, that everything is in order up front at McDonald's.

The lesson would be this: you don't have to be a king or a president or an athlete or a movie star to be happy in life.

All you really need is a job you like, and people who care about you.

"I have a great life, great family, great friends, great job. There's nothing I would change," said Lester, who will celebrate his 20th year as a La Grande McDonald's employee this November.

Lester, the 40-year-old son of David and Shirley Lester, was born and raised in La Grande. A medical problem at birth — something to do with blood cell counts — left him with disabilities to overcome.

He had trouble with his coordination, took frequent falls as a child. When he started school, he found he had problems with math. Also, his communication skills didn't develop normally.

"If somebody comes into McDonald's and asks for directions to some place in town, he'll know where it is but won't be able to tell them," said his mother.

Through high school, Lester fought to keep up with his peers. With help from teachers, friends and loved ones, he earned his diploma.

After graduation, he became a client at New Day Enterprises, the non-profit organization serving the developmentally disabled in Union County.

New Day placed him in his job at McDonald's on Nov. 21, 1987. Svend Willadsen, the father of current McDonald's owner Beau Willadsen, did the hiring.

"Svend was all right, though he's different from Beau. He was quiet and had a dry sense of humor," Lester said of his old boss.

Lester learned how to keep the dining area — known in McDonald's lingo as the lobby — neat and presentable. It's the job he's been doing almost continuously for two decades.

Lester works the day shift, Monday through Friday, clocking in a little before 9 each morning and working through the lunch hour. He quits at 2 p.m.

He sweeps and mops floors, buses tables, fills condiment containers, cleans the rest rooms.

After that, it's a matter of keeping things ship-shape for the steady stream of customers coming in for the mid-day meal.

"When it gets busy, I kind of hover around waiting for people to leave. Then I do their table," he said.

Customers generally are congenial, though at times they can be crabby, he said.

"Some are nice and some not. Some will come and want breakfast after 10:30, and when we tell them we don't serve breakfast at that time, they get mad and stomp out," he said.

Except for that, Lester said he has little or nothing to complain about.

What he likes best about his job, he said, is his interaction with co-workers. He is especially close to manager Jerra Wood, and to owner Beau Willadsen.

Lester and Willadsen are both football fans, and each week during the season, they make a $2 bet on a game.

Lester loves the New York Jets; Willadsen cheers for the Seattle Seahawks.

"Mike usually wins the bet," Willadsen said. "But last year the Seahawks had a good season and I got a little bit ahead."

As important as his job is to him, Lester knows that outside interests count for a lot, too.

He loves music, geography and history. He knows not only the names of all the U.S. presidents, but also the vice presidents. He can tell the names of every state in the Union.

He has a girlfriend he calls his best friend, and figures he might get married someday. He said he doesn't want to rush into it, though.

"It means giving up your freedom, so you've got to think about it," he said.

In the way of community involvement, he works as a volunteer at the La Grande Fire Department.

He cleans and polishes the trucks, taking the work every bit as seriously as his work at McDonald's.

"I love it. That's my home away from home," he said.

Lester also receives comfort and support from his close-knit family, including his mother and father, and sister Rebecca.

He lives at home with his parents, though Shirley Lester said that arrangement is by choice and not out of necessity.

"I'm most proud of him because he's come so far and he's so independent," she said. "He's his own boss and he does what he wants to do. I know he can take care of himself."

And taking care of himself starts and ends with his job at McDonald's, the one he says he'll work at until he can't anymore.

He tackles that job with a stubborn, almost iron-willed discipline. He can boast that he's never called in sick, and has never been late through any fault of his own.

"I've got a good sense of responsibility," he said. "I just get up and go for it every day."