BREWER – There are those who work a job 20 years and then retire.

Then there are those, like Brewer resident Bernice Winslow, who work a job for 28 years and then retire to take on another job for 22 years – and counting.

Winslow, 85, works at the Brewer Veterinary Clinic, and said she’s not planning on retiring anytime soon.

“I’ve worked here for a long time,” she said. “I do office work, including the payroll for the clinic and kennel.”

For 28 years, Winslow worked as a teacher in and around Maine.

“In addition to raising three children and being a wife and housekeeper, she was an elementary teacher, who started out in a one-room schoolhouse in Eddington,” said her son David Winslow.

She also taught in Bangor and Brewer. She taught mainly fifth and sixth grades and over the years had the pleasure of instructing several interesting people, including Maine’s governor and a local TV personality.

“I enjoy kids a lot,” she said. “I had Bill Green – who is on the TV – years ago, and I had Gov. Baldacci but I vaguely remember him. I remember Bill Green better. He was a cute redhead and he was very lively.”

Wilson was born in Plymouth, and her family moved to Brewer in the 1930s. She was educated in Farmington, graduated in 1940, and has lived in Brewer ever since.

After she retired from teaching, Winslow said, she quickly got bored. This is when she decided to take a job working the kennels for Dr. Jim Elliot, who ran Elliot Animal Hospital on outer Broadway. That lasted until Elliot sold his business and retired three years later.

“Then I came over here and got a job with Dr. [Robert] Feher and I’ve been here ever since,” she said. That was 22 years ago.

“As long as I’m moderately healthy and the boss will put up with me, I’ll continue working.”

“She’s like my secretary, my mother – we get along great,” said Feher. “She’s just a wonderful person. We’ve always gotten along and respected each other. I couldn’t do without her; she’s just part of the family.”

Winslow arrives at work early to prepare the office, and looks forward to driving herself to work every day.

“Mom still gets up every weekday between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m., has her coffee and is at work by 6:30 a.m.,” her son said. “She turns on the computers, makes sure the office and waiting rooms are clean and ready for the day.”

The reason Winslow continues to work: She likes to be around people.

“I like to be busy and I like to meet people and see people,” she said. “I think it’s helpful to keep me going. I don’t like to sit around and do nothing. I like to be constructive.”

During her years of working for Ferer, Wilson has had to learn a few new tricks. The biggest hurdle was learning to use a computer.

“I had no intentions of learning that,” she said. “Nowadays, most people have got to have some sort of computer knowledge – it’s just a way of life.”

Winslow now has a computer and fax machine at home and carries a cell phone. She said she’s now “wired” into the office.

“In addition to all of the above, Mom still continues to be a mom, housekeeper and a wife,” David Winslow said. “She enjoys visits from her children and makes trips to the Bangor Veterans Home on occasion to visit with her husband, Clarence, who has Alzheimer’s.”