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800-564-1856 419-624-1856
David Moon: Age 85
Working at Cedar Point
David Moon, a retired
teacher, continues to
farm in Berlin Township.
He has always admired
the landscaping at Cedar
Point. So much so,
that he told a friend on
several occasions that
he would like to work
at Cedar Point in the
landscaping department.
One day, his friend
replied, “Dave, either
apply or shut up”. And so
he did…
Although Dave does not own a computer, he was
resourceful and asked a relative to help him submit
his application over the internet. A few weeks later
he was surprised and pleased when he learned –
by cell phone -- that he was hired as a seasonal
landscaper.
Each year, starting mid-March, 14 seasonal
employees are hired to do spring clean up, mulch,
mow grass, weed, and miscellaneous tasks. Martha
Beverick, Manager of Cedar Point’s Landscaping
Department, was impressed by David’s application
because he is a farmer. “Farmers know hard work”,
she said.
His age was not a factor because age is not on the
application and Cedar Point does not ask about age.
Martha said, “Cedar Point hires a lot of people over 55”.
According to Martha, David’s job required him to do
a lot of miscellaneous tasks. She would give him a
list of tasks and he would do his job.
She said, “I didn’t have to worry about him. You
could tell he wanted to be here. He would make my
day - every day. He would always be here before me
and I get here early. He always had a history fact
for me, most mornings. He always had a smile on
his face, a good attitude, he wasn’t afraid to ask me
questions, he wasn’t afraid to tell me that he went to
the wrong place to do a task. He was enthusiastic
and proud when he finished a job”.
David Moon is unique in that “His enthusiasm was
infectious,” she said. “I talk about him all the time.
He was well loved by everyone who worked with
him. David felt it, too; and he reciprocated. That’s
what we find with the older generation.”
Because it is not common that someone 80+ years
old explores new job opportunities, I asked Dave
what he got out of having this job experience.
He told me, “I learned a lot about plants that, frankly,
I didn’t know an earthly thing about. We grew a lot of
plants here that were just fantastic. I learned about
caring for plants and amazed at the high volume of
plants at Cedar Point. Sometimes it would take me
three to four hours to just water all of the plants.”
I was surprised to learn that Dave would work 10
hour days. I asked him how he held up.
He said, “I’ll level with you… I enjoyed it, but I went
home tired.” We all started to laugh. He confessed
that in the beginning his muscles were sore because
it was such a physical job.
He said, “The thing that was nice about working for
Mrs. Beverick, is that she would be very precise in
explaining how she wanted the work done. There
was never any grey area. So if you goofed up, there
was never an excuse. She has a way of assigning
work in such a way that you don’t feel like you are
being bossed. There is a polish there. It makes me
enjoy getting work done”.
Dave still has animals to care for on his farm. In
order for him to take care of the farm and get to
