Baldwin ? Friday the 13th doesn’t bother Baldwin City icon Chet McMillen one little bit.

“I was born on Friday the 13th,” McMillen said. “My mom said I was born on Friday the 13th. : If a black cat goes in front of me, I don’t go around the block. I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me.”

Chet McMillen stays active, even at 90 years old, by working at Cordoba's restaurant in Baldwin City.

And, yes, during those 90 years, there have been numerous birthdays on Friday the 13th.

Thirteen times, in fact.

Of course, McMillen isn’t your typical 90-year-old.

While most people his age retired long ago, McMillen still works as a short-order cook at Cordoba’s restaurant in Baldwin City. He works the breakfast shift, 4 a.m. to 11 a.m., Tuesday through Friday.

He’s been involved in restaurants since the 1950s, after he met and married his wife, Audra, in Lawrence.

“When I’m cooking, I put myself on a diet,” McMillen said. “Some cooks, it’ll make them heavy; some it will make them slim. The food will get in your pores and you don’t get hungry.”

Eating habits are one thing; he doesn’t have an answer for his longevity.

“I don’t really know, really,” he said. “I don’t drink at home by myself. I go to the Lodge and have drinks with friends. I enjoy that.”

That’s what happened last Friday when he celebrated his 90th birthday there with a host of friends and family.

“Chester was a great fan of baseball,” said Danny McMillen, his nephew. “He’d go to Kansas City Blues games and others. He had season tickets to the Royals for I don’t know how long. That helped him with the restaurant. He’d talk baseball.

“He and Audra would feed anyone, whether they had money or not. They’d help out the Little League teams with uniforms. People hung around him because of his business. He collected a lot of friends. He’s outlived a lot of them.”

War times

McMillen served in the Air Force during World War II, but wasn’t a flier. His expertise was radio, as well as trucks.

“After the war broke out in ’41, I went to Fort Leavenworth for basic training,” McMillen said.

McMillen reported in April 1942, five months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. His company was shipped to Pearl on its way to war. His final destination: China.

“The Chinese built us a house where we had our radio house,” he said. “We collected Japanese code and broke it down on what the Japanese planned on bombing.

“I spent 29 months there. One time I got to drive the Burma Road. I drove trucks some, too. That was one experience I’ll never forget because of the rip-rap on the mountains. There was a sign at the highest spot showing 19,000 feet. The Himalayans. What you had to watch for was the Chinese trucks. If you went off the road, you were gone.”

Life in the states

“I decided to become a body man and went to work in Lawrence,” at a car dealership, he said. “That’s when I met my wife. She had a place in North Lawrence and people told me how good the food was. She made her own root beer and had girls on roller skates that brought you your food. It was 15 cents for a big mug of root beer, a dime for a medium and a nickel for a small one for the kids.”

“We got to eating over there and she knew I liked fried chicken, so she cooked me some. That’s when we got to know each other,” McMillen said.

They married and moved to Baldwin City after the 1951 flood struck North Lawrence. McMillen went to work on the railroad, and his wife began running a Baldwin City diner.

The love of his life

Audra meant everything to McMillen. Even today, 14 years after her death, he still talks about how she influenced his life.

“And my wife, she was probably one of the greatest women who ever lived,” McMillen said. “She gave away more food to anyone. No one went hungry. It didn’t matter who they were, how big of a bum they might have looked like. She didn’t charge the highway patrolmen when they ate there, even though they’d offer. Same with the chief of police. Some people would make tickets and come into pay them off. She’d say she lost them.

“She told me, ‘We’re not here to make money; we’re here to make friends.’ She taught me about people. I don’t think she had an enemy around.”

He’s led an interesting life. He’s been all over the world. He’s been involved in many businesses, met many people and befriended them all. But, at 90, isn’t it time to slow down?

“It’s been quite a life,” McMillen said. “I don’t know. I just couldn’t sit around. I need something to do.”

So, there are no plans for him to quit cooking breakfast every morning. He’s not ready to retire and doesn’t even think about it.

“No. I can’t sit here,” he said. “I’ve got to get out and meet people. I’ve got to be around them.”