For the past 35 years Mildred Marlow has been making sandwiches. Hamburgers, barbecue, grilled cheese, you name it – Mildred’s made it.

Last Thursday she made her last cheeseburger at Johnny’s Barbeque. Made for her boss and longtime friend, Gary Wiggins, it was served with pride and love. “She really has been a wonderful employee, more like family, actually,” said Wiggins.

Mildred feels the same way about him, and about her other bosses, Ron Dunn and Josh Wiggins, Gary’s son.

Mildred was born and raised in the Vinemont community, and attended school in Logan.

She married Charner Marlow when she was just nineteen. The couple will celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary in November- quite a feat in this day and age.

The Marlow’s have five children, Brenda, Kathie, Virgle, Billy and Tony. They also have a houseful of grandchildren – 10 to be exact – and five great-grandchildren. Mildred says that she fully intends to play with them to her hearts content now that she won’t be working.

Even though she will enjoy taking care of her grandchildren, leaving the restaurant is bittersweet. “I’ve been coming here every day for almost as long as I can remember,” she laughed. “I’ve sometimes worked 12 hours a day, especially on the weekends.”

“I would love to keep on working,” she said, a little catch in her voice. “My health isn’t as good as it used to be, and my family finally just talked me into retiring.”

“I love to cook, I can a lot of vegetables, and my family loves my chocolate cake, so I know I’ll be busy at home in the kitchen, too,” she said.

Johnny’s Barbeque is a landmark for most Cullman County residents. They’ve been serving up barbecue and other good Southern food since Wiggin’s father, Troy Wiggins, bought the restaurant back in 1963.

They inherited Mildred from the elder Wiggins. Mildred has always made sure Gary has his decaf coffee first thing in the morning. “She checks on me before taking her lunch break,” he commented.  I told her she was gonna have to come by everyday about dinner time so she could make my lunch – then she could go back home,” he joked.

On the serious side, Wiggins said, “In this day and time you rarely see anyone who has worked 35 years at the same job.”

Dunn will miss Mildred, too. “We got mad at each other occasionally – once I even fired her, but she wouldn’t leave,” he laughed. “She just told me I couldn’t fire her and kept right on working.”  

“We were both stressed out that day, we hugged and made up, and I’m sure glad she stayed,” he said.

Mildred says she quit a few times, but always wound up coming back. “Once I quit and went to work at Souls Harbor Daycare when my son Tony was  young, it worked out better if I was on the same schedule he was,” she explained.

“Actually, I’ve quit about three different times, but I always came back because this place is just like home to me,” she smiled.

Although she admits it gets hectic in the kitchen sometimes, it’s always been a lot of fun. “When my grandson, Scott Burks, worked here he would always be prank calling the waitresses out front on his cell phone. That kept us laughing all night. Everybody has always been so good to help me, and we just try to have a good time while we work,” she said.

Her daughter, Kathie Burks, Scott’s mom, has also worked at Johnny’s Barbeque. “Both she and my granddaughter, Kandi, have worked here so it really is like one big family,” she said.

Mildred recalls when she was hired by Wiggin’s grandmother, Aleta Wiggins. “She trained me and it took about two or three weeks,” she said. “I really thought a lot of her, she was a real good lady.”

When she told Gary and Ron that she was retiring, they told her she couldn’t until she had someone trained just like Grandma Wiggins. “I’d be a hundred years old by that time,” she said.

Mildred is almost 75 now, and had wanted to work until after her birthday, but her doctor has ordered her to be on oxygen, so working and being on her feet all the time is impossible.

She will miss the camaraderie of the staff, and the customers, but most of all she will miss her bosses. They will sure miss her, too.

“That’s been the best part of all, working with three generations of both families,” she sighed.