Employee Salute

Employee Salute

Mary Dickinson

Server for Logan’s Bar and Grill at Grouse Mountain Lodge

Employed for 22 years at Grouse Mountain Lodge

By Seth Eagleton

            I am jealous of Mary Dickinson. She enjoys her job more than anyone I have ever met. For the past 22 years she has worked as a server at Logan’s Bar and Grill at Grouse Mountain Lodge. It is rare to bump into someone that so obviously cares so much about the people around her. Mary is the exception. I think I heard her say “People are great” no less than 15 times in our short conversation. Many of the local folks that come in to eat make sure that they are seated in her area. A few seat themselves because they already know the area she is serving! “When people get up in the morning and come in for breakfast, they should feel better when they leave,” said Mary. With a mentality like that it is no wonder that people keep coming back. In fact, going out for breakfast at Grouse Mountain Lodge with Mary has become part of the experience of visiting Whitefish.

Positive comments come in all the time about Mary:

“I think I would drive the 4 hours just to have the salmon eggs benedict and I wish I could have brought Mary home with us. What a joy she was to have her wait on us both mornings. You guys are lucky she has worked there 22 years,“ said a recent guest via email.

“Mary made my day one morning when she served us. She is great!” said a guest via comment card.

Karen Baker, General Manager at Grouse Mountain Lodge, says that she receives at least one email/comment per week praising Mary.

Mary mentioned that when people go out to eat they should feel special, not just because of the great food but also because of how they are treated. “You get to host a party everyday!” says Mary.

One of her repeat customers is a gentleman that has been coming in with his sister on the days that Mary serves for the past 20 years.  Another local couple brings in their two children once a week and Mary remembers to take out their orange juice before she takes their order. Although she already knows their orders, she checks to make sure which type of latte for her and whether he wants toast that morning or not. “Those types of details make people feel special,“ says Mary. 

Grouse Mountain Lodge was purchased by Glacier Park, Inc. nearly two years ago and since then Mary has made sure to personally introduce her “locals” to any new members of the management team. She says that when they bump into each other at the store, at least they’ll recognize a face. That settles it; Mary wins the sweetheart-of-the-year award – hands down. For taking personal responsibility to make sure that everyone else feels so special and promoting the importance of community within Whitefish, we salute you!