Sheriff's Department Honors 90-Year-Old Employee

On Sunday, Joe Meischeid celebrated his 90th birthday.

On Monday, he headed to Easton, and went to work, where he was honored by his boss, sheriff.

Since 1990, Meischeid has worked for the county as a part-time security officer, after retiring from a career in insurance.

For the last six or seven years, he's been assigned to the mediation room at the courthouse, where people go to hash out divorces, custody arrangements and arbitration. 

If you saw Meischeid walking through the courthouse hallways, you wouldn't suspect he was 90. But tell him "you don't look 90," and he just brushes this compliment off.

"I never knew what you were supposed to look like," he said. "I just let nature take its course."

Meischeid is a Lehigh Valley native. He graduated from Easton Catholic High School, which used to be on Union Street.

" sits where my high school was," he said, going into a little history lesson, how the school closed after Notre Dame opened in 1957. "Every time I walk down the street, I can picture the lot that we played in."

"1957?" said Sheriff Randall Miller, sitting nearby. "Joe, I was 1 year old!"

Miller says it's rare for Meischeid to miss a day of work. Even if there's a snowstorm, he knows Meischeid will be there.

"That's one of the great things about Joe," Miller said. "He has a dedication that is unequaled."

Miller noted that Meischeid's brother, Dick, had also worked for the sheriff's office, also as a post-retirement job. His tenure with the county was 28 years, something Meischeid isn't sure he can match.

"He got an early sart," Meischeid said of his brother.

But that doesn't mean he plans to retire. He'll keep coming to work, he says, "as long as I can stay healthy and get out of bed."