‘COOK CONNIE!’ Beloved school kitchen manager retires – after nearly 40 years

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Connie Anger, longtime Barberton City Schools kitchen manager, retired from Barberton Primary School kitchen this year. She loved her students and staff and had fun with her crew at Halloween and other special occasions. 

By CHRISTINA McCUNE
BGNN managing editor

BARBERTON  They were called Hollywood Squares. To clarify, not the popular game show in the 1960s and ’70s, but rather the popular dessert squares from about that same time frame and a couple decades later.

Local middle-aged people who enjoyed school cafeteria food of their youth – and also enjoy waxing nostalgic – may reminisce about those sweet no-bake peanut butter and chocolate dessert bars.

In other schools, they may have had a different name, but at Barberton schools, the dessert with ingredients similar to homemade buckeyes were called Hollywood Squares.

And Connie Anger, who was used to multi-tasking, running an efficient kitchen and cooking mass quantities every school day on a tight deadline had accidentally put too much butter in her Hollywood Squares recipe.

This was many years ago at Memorial Elementary School. Anger didn’t want to waste any of the ingredients and start over with a smaller batch.

“So our manager, Candice Darlak, from the middle school had to send her 25 pounds of powdered sugar,” said Melissa Gochenour, food service administrative assistant.

She admitted this was a good problem to have. Typically, Anger would make two pans a day.

“She ended up making nine pans of Hollywood Squares and the teachers loved that!! I told her we miss those Hollywood Squares,” Gochenour said.

Most recently serving as manager at Barberton Primary School kitchen, Anger retired as of April 1. She had been employed with Barberton City Schools for nearly four decades – since April 6, 1987. She outlasted school buildings. At least a couple of them have been torn down.

Gochenour worked with Anger the past 11 years.

“You could be having the worst day, and she would just make you laugh,” she said. “Connie was always so happy and made sure that every student she interacted with was happy, too!”

Anger, who grew up in Rittman, held her own two children close to her heart of course and as the school lunch lady she found herself adopting hundreds more.

“The love of her students kept her working here for almost 40 years,” Gochenour said. “The impressions she has made on so many lives are too numerous to count on one hand.”

It all started when Anger’s daughter began kindergarten. She wanted to find a job where she could work the same hours while her daughter was in school. She began by substituting in the school kitchen. That led to her being hired in April 1987. She lived in Norton at the time. Her daughter, Stephanie, now lives in Clinton Township. Anger has a grandson, Michael, 30. Sadly, her son, Jeremy, passed away in a motor vehicle accident when he was only 26.

Anger, 72, and her husband, Richard, a 1980 Barberton alum who owns Anger Pattern Co., live in Wadsworth. Horses and other animals, such as beloved cats, have been a big part of her life for decades – she even had a horse that lived to be 33 years old. Some people may have noticed Anger and her husband riding their horses along the Silver Creek Park horse trail over the years. She began this school year at Barberton Primary School until she had to have knee surgery. She no longer has horses which has been unusual for her after being used to going down to the barn and tending to horses in the rain, sun, and snow for nearly as long as she can remember.

“Her freezer, cooler, and stock room had more food and supplies in them than GFS itself,” Gochenour said. “She would always be cleaning, climbing on the counters to ensure the stuff hanging over the counters was dust-free. She never sits still; she would run circles around us. I always told her I wanted to bottle her energy up. Every morning, before she started at 6:30 a.m., she would feed her horses and goats, then come in and work 8 hours, go home, feed the animals again, and go horseback riding.”
Anger shared another fun story when she worked at Oakdale. She was new and was getting ready to make a big batch of mashed potatoes.

“I put everything in the mixer and I turned it on – here potatoes flung everywhere they were dripping from the ceiling,” she said. “Someone left the mixer on the highest so when I turned it on it just flung everything everywhere.”

A similar thing happened with cherry filling. She remembers co-workers came running to help her clean it up so she wouldn’t get in trouble. But out of 40 years, messes were rare. Which is something considering she managed a kitchen that turned out at least 400 breakfasts and 500 lunches.

“I had good crews,” Anger said. “I lucked out the last couple of years. Such nice people to work with through my whole career. Just lots of nice people. And people that love kids.”

She said she feels comfortable leaving knowing the students are in good hands with the kitchen staff and new manager.

“I’ve been so blessed to work with such great nice people,” she said. “Not one day in all those years did I ever wake up and not want to come to work.”

Over the years, she has had to learn new computer systems. Getting certain brands of foods was difficult during COVID. Hollywood Squares and other sweet desserts have been traded in for healthier options. They try to make sure children have plenty of fruits and vegetables. She has been able to make some menu choices such as a popular stuffed crust pizza.

“We’ve been blessed with giving them a variety,” she said.

She said what hasn’t changed is making sure children don’t go hungry and if she spotted a child who seemed to be having a bad day she knew how to gently ask how they’re doing, show some care and cheer them up.

“You don’t realize how much of a difference you can make to someone just by being kind,” she said.

In her retirement, she said her husband enjoys cruises so she plans to take trips with him. She also plays euchre a few days a week.

A favorite thing she has enjoyed in her later years even before retiring is bumping into students from years ago. It’s not usual for her to be out and about running errands and she’ll hear someone happily exclaim: “Cook Connie!” It might take her a minute to scan the grown up face but she’ll recognize the young child she gave breakfast or lunch to years ago.

“Barberton City Schools is sure going to miss her,” Gochenour said.