The McDonald’s near the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center in Stillwater gets pretty busy over the lunch hour.

There’s a steady stream of customers placing orders at the drive-thru while others use the kiosk near the front counter.

Alice Kane with Stillwater McDonald’s owner Andy Duval on Thursday. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

It’s Alice Kane’s job to help make sure everything runs smoothly — from keeping the dining area and lobby clean to taking food orders to preparing food trays to delivering meals to seated guests to keeping the counter area stocked to attending the drive-thru.

She’s been doing it since May 1989, and she plans to keep going for at least another decade.

On Thursday, McDonald’s officials marked Kane’s 35th work anniversary with a cake, balloons and a huge card. Her new “Kane” Vikings jersey with “35” on the back — ordered as an anniversary gift by owner Andy Duval — was still en route, he said.

“This is an opportunity for us to thank Alice for 35 amazing years,” Duval said. “Thank God you’re here. How would we run without Alice? We really wouldn’t. We’d close down shop. We admire her consistency, her constant hard work. She’s a joy for all the workers and the customers.”

From cleaner to trainer

Kane, 55, of Lake Elmo, was initially hired as a cleaner at the original Stillwater McDonald’s, actually located in Oak Park Heights, but once her second manager got to know Kane, who has Down syndrome, “she thought I could do much more than clean, so she trained me on all the different jobs,” Kane said.

“I never dreamed I would work here for so many years, but I like it,” Kane said. “I really like the people. I have such friendly customers, and I’ve really gotten to know them over the years.”

Kane’s managers encouraged her to study and take the exam to qualify to be a crew trainer in 2008. Since then, Kane has helped train most of her co-workers on all the jobs required to keep the restaurant running. Some of those employees have gone on to become McDonald’s store managers, she said.

Nick Christianson, director of operations, who started working for McDonald’s in Stillwater in December 2008, is one of them.

“She actually trained me in,” he said. “I was 15 when I first started, and I was really nervous. I wasn’t very good. She was very patient. She has a great attitude and is always on time. She’s one of those people who wants to do things the right way. Everybody loves Alice. Everybody knows her. People come in just to chat with her.”

Alice Kane talks with general manager Jonathan deVries at the start of her shift at the restaurant Thursday. Kane has done most jobs at the restaurant and has trained many of her co-workers. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Customers come to the restaurant and ask for Kane by name, said Missy Johnson, second assistant manager.

“They’re like, ‘Oh, where’s Alice?’” she said. “‘Is Alice coming in today?’ She’s absolutely a draw.”

Kane is one of Johnson’s favorite people to work with because she’s punctual and she makes work fun, she said. “We always just have a great time together. She’s super helpful, and she knows what she’s doing. She’s a super hard worker. She knows pretty much every position. If we need her somewhere, she’s right there and willing to step in. She will help even in the kitchen if we need her there.”

Help from Rise

Kane generally works about 18 hours a week, from about 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. She meets each week with Stacy Egeness, an employment consultant from Rise, a nonprofit organization that supports people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. The two discuss any work-related issues Kane may have and organize her rides to and from work on Metro Mobility.

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“Alice is one of my favorite people to coach, honestly, because she is endlessly positive,” said Egeness, who has worked with Kane for just over a year. “When I first started, I was a little nervous, but she immediately started talking to me, and I’ve been comfortable with her ever since. The first day, she makes people feel welcome. The world would be a better place if there were more people like Alice.”

Egeness, in fact, purposely tries to see Kane on Mondays because “she gets you excited for the week,” she said.

“She always has a great perspective on things, and I think that’s what makes her a good worker, too, because she’s really kind, very sweet, and always wants to help out,” she said.

Afton foster family

Kane grew up in Afton. When she was 3 months old, she was placed with Harold and Dolores Krahn, longtime foster-care providers in Ramsey and Washington counties. The couple, who had seven biological children, took in more than 400 foster-care children over the span of 55 years.

“(Dolores) said she took one in, and it grew on her, so she wanted to do more,” Kane said. “She was always calm and patient.”

Harold Krahn died in 1989. Kane and three other foster children lived with Dolores Krahn until 1998 when her health started to decline; she died a year later.

When Dolores Krahn started to have health issues, Linda Koslowski, who had been with the Krahns since she was 4 days old, became a licensed foster-care provider. “I got my license so we could all stay together,” Koslowski said.

Kane now lives with Koslowski, 68, in a townhouse in Lake Elmo.

“I call her my sister since we grew up in the same house since we were very small, but we’re not biologically related,” Kane said. “I’ve been with Linda since I was 3 months old.”

Koslowski worked for Hooley’s and Cub Foods in Stillwater for 46½ years; Kane’s goal is to beat her sister, she said.

“I’ve got to go another 11½ years,” Kane said. “I’ll be 66. I should be able to do that.”

Koslowski said that Kane actually plans to hit her 47th work anniversary on May 11, 2036. “She’s going for 47,” Koslowski said. “She can’t just stop at 46. She can’t tie Hooley’s and Cub. She’s got to top it. So she’s going to 47 at McDonald’s.”

Likes and dislikes

Alice Kane hands a customer their order on Thursday. Kane started working at McDonald’s in May 1989. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Kane’s favorite things to do at work are “doing front-counter register and first drive-thru register person and presenting in the second drive-thru where I double check orders and hand the food and drinks out,” she said.

The worst part of the job? “Dealing with unfriendly customers,” she said.

Kane has worked at the restaurant long enough that she doesn’t have to pay for food. Unfortunately, her favorite items — the grilled-chicken sandwich and the yogurt parfait — are no longer on the menu, she said.

“Now I get the deluxe crispy chicken sandwich, light on the mayo and cheese,” she said. “I don’t eat the fries; I stay away from the fries. If I do order fries, they have to be no salt. I drink water during the week. If I do get a drink, I get a Sprite on the last day of the week.”

Kane supplements her McDonald’s lunch with a yogurt and fresh fruit that she brings from home “to make (her) lunch healthier,” she said. “I like my red grapes, and I like my blueberries and I like strawberries.”

Kane is a fierce fan of the Minnesota Vikings and the Minnesota Twins. Her favorite current Twin is shortstop Carlos Correa. “My all-time favorite is Kirby Puckett. I love Joe Mauer, too,” she said.

Her favorite Viking used to be Kirk Cousins, “but then he left and went to the Atlanta Falcons,” said Kane, who regularly checks her cell phone for sports updates. “I used to like Joshua Dobbs, but he didn’t last long. I’m excited about the new upcoming quarterback J.J. McCarthy. I think he’ll be good. He came from the University of Michigan, where he won 27 games and only lost one, and he won the national championship — that’s what it said in the newspaper.”

She is not a fan of that other team — that one from Wisconsin.

“I despise the Green Bay Packers,” she said. “Silly goose.”

Kane is a self-proclaimed newshound, reading the Pioneer Press cover to cover each day and watching TV news twice a day.

“I watch Fox 9 in the morning and WCCO at night,” she said.

“Fox to get her going and WCCO to get her to bed,” Koslowski said.

Her favorite singers are Reba McEntire and Whitney Houston. Her favorite restaurants are Machine Shed in Lake Elmo and Sgt. Pepper’s in Oakdale. She also likes going to the movies, going for walks and chatting with family and friends on Facebook Messenger.

‘Down syndrome like me’

Kane works out once a week at the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute fitness center and pool in Stillwater. She also is active at Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Oakdale, where she volunteers as an usher and at special events.

Because she has worked at McDonald’s for so long, Kane feels like she knows “pretty much everyone in Stillwater,” she said.

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Running errands or going places with Kane is like being with a celebrity, said Sue Labno, a longtime friend.

“Wherever you go with Alice, you will find that she has a friend that comes up to her and talks to her,” she said. “I’ll say, ‘You know everybody!’ She really does.”

Kane said she likes to run into people and kids who have Down syndrome. “I just smile and say, ‘Oh, you have Down syndrome like me,’” she said.

Kane said she hopes to one day train another employee at McDonald’s who has an intellectual or developmental disability.

“That way they can be independent and be the best they can be,” she said. “McDonald’s is a good place to work.”