The year is 1958: Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” is in theaters, “Tequila” by The Champs is on the radio and Eleanor Walker began her career in education in the Illinois Valley.

For 68 years, Walker has been in Princeton Elementary School District 115, helping and guiding children.

Walker currently serves as the librarian for Douglas Elementary School, a position she has held for 12 years.

“Mrs. Walker’s work ethic and dedication to education are unmatched,” Douglas Elementary School Principal Mandy Hunt said. “She has served generations of families and impacted countless lives within the Princeton community.”

One thing has been the same across every step of Walker’s career.

“I just really love to work with children,” she said. “I’m very glad that I ended up being able to work with them.”

After graduating from Illinois State University, Walker began her tenure in Princeton as a second grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School.

Walker then transitioned to become a part-time teacher and part-time principal before assuming the role of full-time principal at Lincoln.

In 1994, Walker moved over to Jefferson Elementary School to become its principal. Walker was in that role for 20 years before assuming her current role as librarian at Douglas Elementary School, a position that she said is the favorite of her career.

“I was so fortunate to get to be the librarian,” she said. “One of my first loves was children’s literature and, of course, working with kids.”

“Many people change careers throughout their lifetime or in retirement, but Mrs. Walker has remained passionate and committed to supporting children and their love of learning throughout her 68-year career,” Hunt said. “The students, staff and Princeton community are blessed to have Mrs. Walker as an example.”

To celebrate her 90th birthday on March 26, Douglas Elementary School had a party for Walker in the school’s gymnasium in the middle of the school day.

“Mrs. Walker’s kindness, consistently pleasant demeanor and never-ending optimism can always be noticed in our school community and the Princeton community at large,” Princeton Elementary School District 115 Superintendent J.D. Orwig said. “She has kept the same, steady, wonderful personality that can make anyone around her smile. Eleanor is just simply a genuine and sincere person.”

Walker said that over her time focusing on children’s literature, things have not stayed the same.

“There’s been a lot of changes,” she said. “Of course, there are a lot more books for children, and they try to keep up with the cartoon characters that are going on now, but I’ll say we have some good children’s authors right now.”

At 90 years old, Walker is unsure whether she will return to Douglas as the librarian for the 2026-27 school year, but said that the community around her makes a compelling case for her to come back.

“We have such good teachers. I’ve just been with them and the children for so long,” she said. “That’s another part of why it’s hard to give up a job, when you work with people that you really like.”