New dark green gaberdine custodian uniforms were rolled out in 1950. Here’s the caption from the Forum. HAPPY UNIFORMITY–Pausing long enough from their work to display their. New uniforms are Bill Short, Everett Baker, Eugene Field, Ollie Majors, and Howard Comer. Because of their friendly smiles and greetings, they are well known at both local public schools. Mr. Short, Mr. Majors, and Mr. Comer work at Maryville High.
The above image is an AI Colorized and enhanced version of a very dark online copy of the Forum, so it is not certain how accurate the faces are.
Custodians Don New Uniforms, Complete Schools’ New Look’ By Jo Peery – Hi-Lights, Maryville Forum Oct 14, 1950
Everyone and everything around MHS has been getting that new, different look. The appearance improvement is one that has been brought now for the custodians, these hard-working. Friendly, Ollie Majors, and Howard Comer decided that they needed new uniforms.
As a result, now wearing natty dark green gabardine suits. The custodian’s picture is complete, Everett Baker.
Complete with Caps. Two of the four uniforms for each worker have been furnished by the school, and two were bought by the men themselves.Caps and ties will also be supplied by the school. Ollie. Bill and Howard are all well known about MHS. They have been employed here for seven years. Six and four years, respectively.
Before working here, Ollie spent six years as a custodian at Northwest Missouri State College. When asked what he liked about this student body, he replied. “They’re nice folks to get along with.” Howard, whose working territory is mainly on the third floor, served three and one-half years in the army before his employment here.
Concerning the student body, he said. “I just like them and enjoy their fine cooperation.” Bill Short, whose last name does not quite fit him, as he is five feet eleven inches tall, stated that he, too, liked all of the students.
Before he was hired to operate the heating plant at MHS, he worked ten years in the boiler room at the local college. And previous to that, he spent 15 years working for the Wabash railroad. Mr. Baker, or Everett as he is called by his many friends, worked at the Maryville High building during much of the summer vacation. helping to give the school its beautiful, new, airy look.
- “Those new gaberdine custodian uniforms make the janitors look so sharp you half-expect them to swipe your report card instead of the chalkboard.”
- “Dark green gaberdine — finally a uniform that makes the boiler room look like a fashion show.”
- “With those uniforms, the custodians don’t just sweep the floors — they coordinate the whole school’s décor.”
- “They say gaberdine is durable. Good — it has to survive mop bucket slaps, cafeteria traffic, and the Principal’s temper.”
- “The new uniforms are so smart, the custodians keep getting stopped for directions — to the auditorium, the library, and Broadway.”
- “Dark green gaberdine: hides scuffs, spills, and the mystery goo from the science lab. Miracle fabric!”
- “After one week in those uniforms, the custodians started demanding a spot in the yearbook — under ‘Best Dressed.’”
- “We asked the janitor what he thought of the gaberdine. He said it made him feel like a tuxedoed superhero — ‘Cleaner by day, stain-fighter by night.’”
- “The new custodian look is so official that even the brooms stand at attention.”
- “Parents asked why the custodians were wearing gaberdine. Board replied: ‘To match the shrubbery out front.’”
- “Gaberdine’s great — now when someone’s late, the custodian can just point to their sleeve and say, ‘That’s my excuse for being spotless.’”
- “They outfitted the custodians in dark green so the kids would stop blaming the janitor for every mysterious stain. Now they just blame the uniforms.”