At 97, Alice Barbieri is spry for her age. She has a quick swipe when at the register and an even quicker wit.
She doesn't take likely to the idea of retiring. "They’re going to have to push me out," Barbieri said.
For the last 25 years, Barbieri has been ringing up regulars at Quinnipiac University's Q Café and with just about three months to her 98th birthday, she's still driving herself to work five days a week.
"I wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t work," Barbieri said.
She landed on her cozy seat at Q Cafe after her husband died when she was just 72. "I was pretty old, but in those days they didn’t ask you how old you were."
When questions about retirement come up, Barbieri is quick to shoot them down. "I live alone, I have a seven room house, my husband's dead almost 30 years so I have to work to pay the bills."
She says there's something rewarding in it for her. "It keeps your mind and body active. It keeps your body going and you know you get arthritis so you keep moving. You got to keep moving. I love it. That’s why I’m here so long."
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Her customers love it too. "Just seeing her everyday on the cafeteria line just brightens everyone’s day. She’s happy and joyful," Quinnipiac Senior Louis Venturelli said.
