Willie Chong looks out the window of the downtown YMCA on Clay Street where he has worked for 70 years.(The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[1/20/02]Ask any member or fellow employee of the downtown YMCA how long Willie Chong has been at his job and you’ll get the same answer: forever.

It’s not forever, but for 70 years this man has come to the same job, in the same building.

The Downtown Junius Ward Johnson Memorial YMCA opened its doors in 1923. Nine years later, 12-year-old Chong started an after-school job cleaning windows that would allow him a glimpse into history, Clay Street, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, as it modernized during nearly three-quarters of a century.

“That is a long time for you to enjoy one job,” Chong said smiling.

Chong, now 85, continued at the Y strictly as a janitor until he received a degree in massage and physical therapy in 1942. He’s not stopped since.

“He is the guy who runs this place,” said Mary Jane Plett, who has worked at the front desk since 1986. She quickly mentions his dry sense of humor and easy-going personality that hits home with many of the members.

“We would all like to think we would have as many friends as Willie Chong,” YMCA Director Herb Wilkinson said.

One member and long-time friend, Dick Palermo, has gotten a massage from Chong twice a week for 30 years.

“I’m addicted to them, it is very relaxing,” Palermo said. ” I can’t imagine anyone replacing him.”

Chong’s massage station in the men’s locker room shows its passage through time with broken ceiling tiles hanging above the table. Still, this is Chong’s space and a nearby wall proves it. A degree from the Kellburg Institute in Chicago hangs next to a photograph of a younger Chong. Engraved on the frame are the words, “Mr. YMCA Health Club.”

Indeed, he deserves such an honor, but there was a time when Chong thought he would give it all up to see what life was like without the Y. Shortly after retiring in September 1981, boredom and the price of living changed his mind.

“Retirement is for the birds,” Chong said. “I had to get back to work to make ends meet.”

He also said his brief respite made him lonely because he missed the camaraderie of working.

“Work is good for you,” Chong said. “(It helps you) understand people’s way of living.”

Five years ago, Chong’s way of living was interrupted with open heart surgery that kept him out of work, but for only a couple of weeks. Even with the surgery and a grueling dialysis treatment three times a week, Chong continues to work part-time, showing no signs of leaving, even when the Y moves to its new home on East Clay Street this year.

“Folks come and go, and things change, but Willie has always been there, the same, ” Wilkinson said.