Knicely Done: Donna's daily dish of hard work

It was on Mother's Day back in 1955 when Donna Malone first started working at the Pink Poodle restaurant in Crescent, Iowa.

"I was about 17 or so," she said in an interview with WOWT 6 News.

"It wasn't much, I washed dishes."

Now at age 80, Donna is still working at the Pink Poodle

"I don't know what it is," she said. "We've got good people that are friendly and nice to wait on and it's close to home, I make good money, what else can you want?"

Donna's main job is to wait tables in her section but if something needs to be done, she'll do it.

Daniel Fienhold is the manager and head cook..He's worked with Donna for twenty-five years. "She's one of the hardest workers I know," he said. "She's go go go all the time."

Amazingly Donna actually works two jobs during the week. She's in the law office of Attorney Jerry Ortman by 7:00am answering the phone, typing briefs and whatever else is part of the work load. Donna has been working at that job fifty years!

"If I reversed the jobs I could not stay awake," she said. "If I worked at the Pink Poodle and then here in the afternoon I would fall asleep. But you can't sleep when you're walking."

Between the two jobs Donna estimates she puts in about sixty hours a week. Keep in mind she reached retirement age fifteen years ago.

She is also still licensed to drive a semi. Her late husband was a truck driver and the two of them often took turns on the road when her schedule permitted.

Asked about why many people think her work ethic is remarkable, Donna laughingly said, "I don't understand, I mean I'm nobody special. I just work because I like to. I'm just surprised that everybody's all of a sudden taking an interest in me because I'm not that interesting."

Knicely Done!