Wilder recounts 27 years of service

When students enter the dining halls of Rockefeller and Mathey colleges, they are greeted by the familiar face of Charles Wilder. With nearly 30 years at the University under his belt, Charlie has become one of the constants of campus life for many students.

He sits at the Mathey card-checking table and hails students by name as they move in and out of the dining hall. "Have a nice day, Amy . . . Hello Steve, are you still running?" he asked a couple of students walking by.

"Seeing Charlie in the mornings cheers you up for the rest of the day," Alex van Hoek '08 said.

"It's because he knows everyone's names," agreed Michael Wood '08. "When I hear Charlie's voice, I just get that little bit more hungry."

Wilder came to Princeton in 1978 to take over as one of the managers of Rocky-Mathey dining services after working in a nursing home. He officially retired in 1994.

But, he said, "two, three days at home and I was already starting to miss this place. So when they sent me a letter asking me if I could come back and cover for someone, I said 'yes.'"

He now works Monday through Friday as the card-checker at Rocky for breakfast and at Mathey for lunch.

For Wilder, the best part of the job is talking to University students from diverse backgrounds.

"It's a place where you can sit still and travel the world," he said.

For most students, food appears in the dining halls as if by magic. But for the people who work behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly, spending the night stuck in a chair and coming up with innovative ways to deal with broken dishwashers are all part of the job.

Wilder recalled two instances when "the entire University was shut down due to heavy snowstorms. All the roads were blocked and classes were cancelled. But we came in and fed [the students] anyway."

He also remembers when the term "vegetarian" referred to "people who didn't eat beef, only chicken and fish," and the only vegetarian item on the menu would be macaroni and cheese.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"The menu and food here have really improved over the past few years. Now students can come in and look at the menu book and see what's gone into each dish," he said. "I don't understand it when students come in and say, 'There's nothing to eat.'"

After working in the dining hall in various capacities for 27 years, Wilder has seen it all. He has been witness to fraternity pledges wearing diapers and pink leotards — dressed as Cupid — to meals, and has even seen actress Brooke Shields '87 and singer Michael Jackson on campus.

"I get out of bed every day and wonder, 'What's going to happen today?'" he said.

At 72 years of age, Wilder has no plans to retire in the near future.

"I'm going to work here as long as I can. I love it here," he said.