THIS WAS JUST A PERFECT PLACE FOR A RETIREMENT JOB, A WEEK.

17 years ago and, because she adores downhill skiing, commits to just one day a week at the bookstore. “She’s my Saturday girl,” says Arn. “I never have to worry.”

Horizon ladies don’t hesitate to share their gifts with the community: They lead story hours. The walls are covered with loaner pieces from Henry’s quilting club. Choponis parlays her passion for collecting teapots and teacups into a ticketed tea party, held each spring. It’s an immense labor of love done by the entire staff who serve their guests from their own china.

Tea time is a beloved locals’ event, but Arn says the staff also shine as small-town ambassadors to the seasonal influx of visitors to Cadillac’s lakes and campgrounds. Bovee loves that people on vacation seek out the bookstore and is delighted to help kids and young adults find their summer reads. Choponis considers it a badge of honor that the local bookstore is not a dying breed in Cadillac: “With big bookstores closing down, even ones in the big cities, we hear often, ‘It’s such a nice bookstore. There isn’t one close to me…’”

Arn has witnessed how a small cadre of retirees has meant stability and success for staffing. But even one senior community member deciding to roll up their sleeves can move the needle for a small business. In Leelanau County and other desirable vacation destinations, the shortage of affordable homes and long-term rental options adds to the struggle of finding and retaining employees.

Nevertheless, small business owners must make hay when the sun shines.

Case in point, Leelanau County’s Tom and Kathleen Koch who raise Mangalitsa pigs, poultry, eggs and vegetables at their 14-acre homestead and also operate the Polish Art Center boutique in the village of Cedar, the region’s unofficial Polka Capital, and home of the annual Polka Fest.

Last spring, after hearing countless customers ask where the Polish restaurant is in town, the Kochs planned to open their farm-to-table Polish food truck starting Memorial Day weekend. With one hitch. They needed a dependable person to take food orders while Kathleen ran the store and Tom helmed the stoves and grill.

Then, like kismet, Jane Sapardanis, a Maple City resident and retiree, popped into the Polish gift shop. “They were telling me about the food truck and getting all their ducks in a row. My son-in-law Eric was with me, and said, ‘You are looking at the right person to help you.’”

Indeed, Sapardanis ran a successful casual eatery in Grand Blanc, Shap’s Family Restaurant, for 15 years.

Kathleen Koch hired her on the spot, grateful to then focus on other aspects of launching the business. The buoying feeling was mutual, says Sapardanis, “I thought, wow, she’s hiring me and knows I am a certain age. I felt very relieved. I was in need of a job and an income boost.”

Sapardanis was with Polish Countryside Kitchen from opening day, through all the exciting growing pains. Soon folks were driving from miles away for the Kochs’ old-country recipes: pickle soup, cabbage rolls, garden cucumber salad with dill, sausages and pierogi sizzled on the grill. The alleyway was delightfully transformed with garden lights and garland, the picnic tables held fresh-cut flowers. Sapardanis’s smile was a constant welcome in the window.

“I was blown away by the bravery of Kathleen and Tom doing this,” she says. “Any restaurant business is a huge undertaking … I knew what was ahead. Luckily, they are people with open minds, so I could say, ‘Let’s try it this way.’ There were moments we were all overwhelmed, but they could quickly move on—a healthy attitude in that environment.”

Sapardanis adds, “I was glad to tap back into what was a very exciting part of my life. It was beautiful to watch the business bloom, and I was so happy to be a part of it.”

The Kochs saw firsthand the assets an older workforce brings to a burgeoning business. So, what would it take for Northern Michigan to be a trailblazer in this trend?

It could be as simple as stepping up to work for a neighbor you admire, or a retail or hospitality business you already frequent, says Sapardanis.

Sapardanis also encourages curious seniors who aren’t currently working but are seeking a job to check out AARP’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (see “Retirees at Work,” right).

The Polish Countryside Kitchen food truck will be back full throttle this spring, and Sapardanis hopes to reprise her gig.

“Every single person who came to the truck had a smile on their face. They’d say, ‘My grandmother made food just like this,’ and it would bring back all these sentimental feelings.” She adds, “I am 74 years old and a part of something brand new and exciting with people who are amazingly smart and talented. I’m so grateful they took a chance on me. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Retirees At Work

How one program trains jobseeking seniors to find their perfect part-time gigs.

Maple City’s Jane Sapardanis found seasonal employment in her golden years at a food truck in Cedar, but not everyone seeking a job postretirement is ready to dive into a part-time gig right off the bat. She encourages curious community members to check out AARP Foundation’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which helps low-income individuals aged 55-plus prepare themselves to seek and find unsubsidized employment in their local communities.

Alicia Rusch is Project Director of the SCSEP Workforce Programs for AARP Foundation’s Traverse City office. She explains that SCSEP first matches eligible older job seekers with local nonprofits and public agencies so they can increase skills and build self-confidence in these work settings. “We partner with 501c3 nonprofits, but this is not volunteer work—it is paid work training,” she shares. “Seniors who have been out of the workforce get their feet wet and acclimate to working again. They learn hard skills, soft skills and communication skills.”

SCSEP’s older job seekers work an average of 18 to 20 hours a week at the host agency and are compensated via a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Par t two, Rusch explains, is to move out of this training experience to permanent unsubsidized employment. “We have some agency supervisors contact us to hire our program participants. Supervisors pleased with the participant’s performance will tell us this is the employee we have been waiting for,” she adds. “Seniors come from a different generation of work ethic and make up a large pool of untapped talent—more employers need to look at hiring seniors.”

AARP Foundation SCSEP of Traverse City operates one of 72 SCSEP programs across the county and is currently recruiting.

“Qualifying incomes could be due to a lifechanging event … for instance, a spouse became catastrophically ill, depleting savings. We work with the full spectrum—individuals with a master’s degree, or who have a high school education and no previous job skills. If people are on the fence, or just curious about whether they qualify, it is worth it to see as there are so many nuances with eligibility that changes that picture for them.”

“It’s a fabulous program for the 55-plus gang,” Sapardanis adds. “It changed my life.”

231.252.4544; aarpfoundation.org/scsep