Eric Rochester, a building service worker for the UI for 11 years, finds all kinds of things when he cleans classrooms and hallways at night. Several years ago, when he found $1,000 in an envelope in Foellinger Auditorium, he didn’t have to think twice about properly returning it. After all, to this avid comic book collector, $1,000 is the equivalent of one near-mint copy of “The Uncanny X-Men,” issue No. 94; or one fine copy of “Amazing Spiderman,” issue No. 14. Or to some, it could be the value of their entire collection. But even though Rochester might not have the power to run faster than a speeding bullet, and though he might not wear a boldly colored spandex unitard to work, on the day a local church saw its lost money returned, to them, he certainly was a superhero.
Tell me about your job.
Well, I’ve been here 11 years and I’ve graduated to floor work. I basically go in and sweep the floor, machine it and wax it. Right now, I’m just responsible for Roger Adams Laboratory. Some of the guys at my clock station are responsible for six or seven buildings, though.
How long does it take you to completely clean and wax a building?
It takes me about four months to go through Roger Adams, actually.
Is there anything particularly challenging about your job?
Coming in every night, really. It’s not that tough – you sort of get into a rhythm. Being a third-shifter, it can wear you out after a while. But I like that you don’t have a lot of supervision with someone standing over your shoulder hollering at you. You’re self-managing.
So I hear you found $1,000 once. Tell me about that.
That was about three years ago. I had overtime in Foellinger Auditorium and I was cleaning it, and I went up on stage to see if there was any trash, and there was a big manila envelope and it had $1,000 written on it. So I thought ‘Nah,’ you know, but sure enough there was money in there. It had the name of a church on it and, you know, it was God’s money so I had to return it. So I got a hold of the foreman and returned it. I got a nice thank you letter from them a little later. It was actually money they had collected to give to a local charity.
And I got a merit mug for it. It’s a blue coffee cup that says “Meritorious Achievement.”
What else do you find while you work?
Occasionally you find a camera or a cell phone or something like that. You just take it in and fill out lost form and the foreman returns it to Public Safety, I think.
Do you have any interests outside of work?
Yeah, I bowl. I’m in a bowling league in Rantoul. I’m on a team with my brother and two of our female friends, and this year we ended up in sixth place out of 20 teams. Right now I’m carrying about a 163 average. Actually, it’s down 10 pins from last year. I was on two teams last year, so not bowling as many nights this year might have hurt me.
What do you like about bowling?
It’s a skill game, you know. Anybody can pick it up, but to actually be accomplished at it you have to keep practicing. I’ve been bowling in leagues for almost 10 years and I’ve bowled on and off recreationally since I was a kid.
Do you have any other hobbies?
Actually, I collect comic books. I’ve been doing that since I was 7, not actively collecting but reading them. I’ve probably got maybe 7,000 comic books at home now though. I mostly collect Marvel, but I also enjoy Image and I have a couple titles from DC.
What’s your most valuable comic?
I don’t know. I’d have to go through them. I do have the original Incredible Hulk, No. 181, where Wolverine is first introduced. Outside of baseball cards, comic books are one of the collectibles that can give you a higher return for your investment. But I haven’t tried selling any of mine. I just like to read them.
