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Tennessee high school surprises beloved custodian with 90th birthday party

Posted at 2:06 PM, Nov 26, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-26 14:07:07-05

PORTLAND, Tenn. — An entire school surprised a beloved custodian for his 90th birthday.

Bill Anglemeyer is a cheerful face at Portland High School. Whether he's humming or cleaning, he does it all with a good attitude.

"I hope he keeps on working for us as long as he can cause he's a very kind man," Portland High School student Patrick Strickland said.

"Mr. Bill," as he's known to students, has been cleaning the high school's cafeteria for 25 years. On Friday, he was called to clean up a mess in the gym.

"They told me I had a big water leak," Mr. Bill said. "I said, 'Do I need to mop?' they said 'No we got it pretty under control.'"

Instead, he got the surprise of his life. Over a thousand students sang him 'Happy Birthday,' on what was dubbed "Mr. Bill Day."

"When he blew out his candles for his 90th birthday, it made ya feel something," Strickland said. "That he was working here this long, and that we appreciated him."

Once Friday's excitement faded, it was time to get back to work on Monday.

"I love working here," he said.

Mr. Bill said his son has asked him to retire, and he said no.

"He told me he was going to come up here and make me quit. I said nobody makes me do nothing."

This story was originally published by Alexandra Koehn on WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee.