After sweeping and mopping acres of floors, and scrubbing, dusting, painting, vacuuming and mowing his way across Linderman Elementary School and Polson Middle School, Marvin Bjorge hung up his broom and paintbrush and retired from Polson School District after 34 years and one month.

“I think we have the best school district in the nation, but I’m biased,” Bjorge said.

The Bjorges' oldest daughter, Gina, was born in 1991, the same year her dad began working for the school district as night janitor at Polson Middle School. She learned to crawl down the halls of the brand-new school.

Custodial work is a “physical job – sweeping, scrubbing, vacuuming,” Bjorge said.

He worked up the ladder of seniority and ended his career as head custodian at Linderman and PMS.

"I could always count on Marvin to get things done. He was a hard worker," said Kristin Wilson, principal at Linderman. "He also had such great knowledge of not only Linderman, but all of the buildings in our district and their histories. He will be missed." 

Bjorge worked for Coast to Coast hardware before the school job, assembling bicycles, barbecues and lawn mowers during spring and summer and furniture in the winter. He also learned about mechanics, which was helpful during his long tenure as a custodian.

Two momentous events during Bjorge’s career were the collapse of the south wall/roof of Linderman gym and the COVID pandemic.

When the gym disaster happened, a teacher called Bjorge and said the alarms were all going off, and Bjorge responded, “I’ll be right there.”

He was the first staff member on site, joined by Polson Volunteer Fire Department Chief Terry Gemballa. Heavy snow on the south side of the gym’s roof slid down and froze, forming a jelly roll-type shape, and the wet weight of the ice and snow caused the wall to collapse.

There was water coming in, and they had to determine if it was regular water or boiler water, which is treated. Since he had a boiler license, Bjorge decommissioned the boilers, and then they shut down the water lines, which hadn’t been turned off in 30 years.

Since there were two separate buildings – the gym and the adjacent classrooms – the entire campus didn’t need to be shut down. But the library, music room, dressing rooms, gym, concession stand and lobby did need to be closed.

The building never quit moving until it was completely torn down — bulletin boards and photographs popped off walls, shelves with books fell, and gym lights shattered and fell, Bjorge said. The membrane applied to the roof in 2006 was holding much of the building in place. When engineers decided to pull the building down, they removed the membrane, and the building imploded.

Then came COVID 19. It was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization. Blessed to have a boiler license and longevity, Bjorge was told his job was safe. He was sent to PMS to oversee sanitation for food services. The walls, ceilings, and all the furniture in the entire school had to be disinfected.

School was dismissed in March, and students were learning online until fall. When they returned, there was daily spraying of Virex to be done.

Marvin grew up on a ranch in Garcon Gulch, 13 miles from Hot Springs. After graduation in 1982, he ventured off to college at Prairie Bible Institute in Three Hills, Alberta, Canada.

Bjorge met his wife, Laura, also a redhead, when a Southern Baptist college group came to the Lakeview Baptist Church on spring break in 1989. Marvin and Laura will be celebrating 36 years of marriage on Nov. 4.

Raising their children, Gina, Jimmy, Elizabeth and David, in Polson, the Bjorges have quite a network of friends in the community.

The couple recently purchased a new four-wheel drive pickup and a camper. With an anniversary coming soon and three grandchildren, travel seems to be in their future.