In the 55 years since Henry Isaac started to work for Mississippi State as a dish washer in Perry Cafeteria, he has been here through many of the most important events in university history.
The 74-year-old cook has witnessed the decimation of Old Main by fire, fed the Parchman prisoners brought in to clean up the wreckage, and watched the construction of the Colvard Student Union, Davis Wade Stadium, and Humphrey Coliseum. He also helped sneak the 1963 men's basketball team out under cover of darkness to participate in the NCAA tournament. He has seen the campus grow from about 60 buildings to more than 180 and the student body grow from about 4,000 to more than 18,000.
In many ways, Isaac is a walking piece of MSU history, but to him, it was all in a day's work. Mississippi State is as much a part of him as he is a part of it.
"When you get something that is in your blood that you care about, it's hard to leave," Isaac said. "I've seen things come and go and a lot of changes. Some of them good and some of them bad, but I have never once wanted to be anywhere else."