PATTEN, Maine — Albert “Bert” Roy has seen many changes to the Ellis Family Market grocery store during his 45 years with the company.
Roy, 60, was celebrated Wednesday during an open house cookout put on by the Ellis family.
“This is a special day for us,” said co-owner Jon Ellis. “Anybody that knows Bert, knows he is a worker. He is just an amazing employee and the last thing we want him to do is to retire.”
Peter Ellis said one of his fondest memories of working with Roy, who was also a volunteer firefighter, was learning to stay away from the front door of the meat-cutting room because it could fly open at any moment.
“If that pager went off, the knives flew and the doors would fly open,” he said. “You learned to stay the heck away because he was headed out. Joking aside, I sincerely appreciate all the work, effort and camaraderie he has brought.”
In 1973, Roy started working for Bud Bell as a bag boy, carrying groceries to customer’s vehicles and basically doing anything that was asked of him. The Ellis family purchased the grocery store in 1983.
Bell offered Roy his start in the business because he witnessed the boy’s hustle and determination.
“Many years ago, they used to unload freight by rail and so I would come up in the summer and help the guys unload the cars,” Roy recalled. “The owner, Bud Bell, saw what I was doing and told me, ‘You’re a worker. When you turn 15 come see me. I’ll have a job for you.’”
So when Roy finally turned 15 he approached Bell, who immediately gave him a job.
He worked his way up to a management position, serving as a night manager during his high school days. After graduation, though, Roy decided to take some time off and journeyed to Colorado.
“Bud called me up and asked me if I would come back because he needed me,” Roy said. “I remember telling him I didn’t have enough money for airfare to fly home. So he sent me the money so I could come back home.”
He rejoined the company in September of 1977 and has remained a loyal employee over more than four decades.
Roy’s dedication to his job even resulted in his taking a shortened honeymoon when he married. Roy recalled entering the store one morning at 7 a.m. a few day before the wedding and seeing the owner cutting meat after he had fired the butcher.
“He asked me if I wanted to learn how to cut meat, and I said I would love to,” Roy said. “I had planned to take a whole week off [for the wedding and honeymoon], but ended up coming back on Wednesday, March 22, 1978. I got behind the counter and started cutting meat and have never looked back.”
Roy said he was extremely grateful for the opportunity to work in an area he loves.
“I was born and raised here in Patten and I just love what I am doing,” he said. “The only drawback I had when I first started cutting meat was I no longer had the interaction with the customers as much.”
Roy said he has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
“I’ve still got quite a few good years left in me,” he said.
