Keeping Bangor clean Public worker McKenzie a city fixture

Don McKenzie has been tending to the sidewalks of downtown Bangor for so long he almost blends into the city’s landscape. Thousands of motorists and pedestrians pass by McKenzie each weekday as he cleans the sidewalks — picking up litter in the summer, shoveling snow in the winter, and sweeping the leftover dust in the spring.

From 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., from the Bangor House to the Post Office, McKenzie treads his path, walking untold miles each day through everything Mother Nature can dish out.

An employee of Bangor Public Works for 17 years, McKenzie has been cleaning downtown sidewalks for five. Most days he can be noticed pushing his cart about town, with his quiver of various tools sticking out.

“I’m out all weather, rain, shine,” McKenzie said during a recent break in his route.

On this blustery day, the Bangor Savings Bank thermometer reads 33 degrees, and flurries whirl about. Cars zoom around downtown and people scurry down Main Street with their heads down against the cold wind.

There is slush everywhere, and McKenzie’s shovel is well worn.

In a navy-blue knit cap, rubber snow boots and a orange vest, McKenzie, 57, is prepared for a long day of what probably feels like trying to fend off a giant Slurpee.

His lined face reflects his years outdoors. If not for a thick, reddish mustache, McKenzie would resemble a heavier Charles Bronson. A Bangor native who has lived in the city all his life, McKenzie said he enjoys working outside, particularly in the summer.

“I can stand the heat, not the winter,” said McKenzie, a no-nonsense man of few words.

For Bangor’s downtown community, McKenzie is a fixture who has been around longer than many of the stores he passes each day.

There’s a routine of sorts that he follows, whether it’s chatting up the homeless, waving to a state trooper leaving the court house, or stopping into LaVerdiere’s for a cup of hot coffee with the manager.

He’s almost been hit by cars a number of times, he said, smiling and adding, “Sometimes it’s my own fault.”

The boundless energy that fuels his trips up hills, across streets, and around the miles of downtown sidewalks will probably keep him from retiring for a few years yet. He’s the only Public Works employee left for this duty — one died and the other was let go — and although he has nearly 20 years in with the city, the thought of sitting around the house has little appeal.

“I’m not thinking about retiring at all,” he said. “I can’t stay at home.”