More than half a century ago, 16-year-old Millard Lightbourne pedalled his bicycle from Morgan’s Road to Elbow Beach Hotel where he took a job as an electrical apprentice.Close to 55 years later, Mr Lightbourne, “Mill” as he is known, is still working there as the assistant chief engineer and knows the hotel better than most people on earth.He is retiring on Friday after seeing the hotel through almost every modern transition — from installing air conditioning in every room and adding on to the main kitchen to digging underground trenches to supply electricity throughout the property.“I’ve been through every last one of the major renovations and I can tell you about 95 percent of them,” he said.He was there when a hotel room cost $15-$16 dollars a day which included breakfast and dinner and his first pay cheque amounted to be around $20 a week though it was paid in pounds back then.Mr Lightbourne, a sprightly 70-year-old who has a remarkable memory for exact dates in history, was there when the hotel swimming pool was dug in 1960-61 and when the balconies on South Shore facing rooms were installed in 1962-63.He vividly remembers that time because he was listening to the radio as he worked when on November 22, 1963, US president John F Kennedy was assassinated. He told his fellow co-workers the news.He also recalls the buzz around Alfred Hitchcock’s visit in the 60s.“Everyone was excited to see him because he was quite a character at the time,” he said.Mr Lightbourne worked his way up the chain of command in the engineering department, becoming the lead electrician only five years into his career and then promoted to supervisor responsible for all the electrical concerns at the hotel. From there he went on to become the assistant chief engineer, a position he holds today.In the early 1960s he can recall when there were 1,100 college students staying over Spring Break in just 345 rooms.“If you went into the guest rooms at that time, you had five and six people in one room,” he said. “The maids would complain because they couldn’t move around the beds.”That rush of college students lasted well into the 1980s, he said.Mr Lightbourne can remember the names of every colleague he worked with over the years — one co-worker left in the early 1960s and recently came back to the hotel to visit and he recognised his old friend at once.“I’ve had the opportunity to work with every general manager and every chief engineer that have passed through these doors since 1958,” he said.“It’s been very exciting working here. I’ve enjoyed my time.”If anyone has experienced the heyday of tourism in Bermuda, Mr Lightbourne has — when for decades hotel guests would come to stay for weeks at a time each year whereas now the norm is a three-day jaunt.“The whole attitude of workers back then was that you went over and beyond for your guests,” he said. “We had a lot of repeat guests — you remembered them and they remembered you. You took great pride in your work and there are people who still do that but not as much as much as they used to.”Mr Lightbourne continues to carry on the top-notch service tradition from a bygone era.“Even now if I see a guest on the property looking lost I anticipate their needs and ask if I can help and then if they need directions I just don’t point, I will escort them there,” he said.He added that the industry has changed — from a time when Bermuda and Hawaii were the two top destinations to when the Caribbean islands became more popular and Europe “opened up”. Tourists today have an endless list of vacation options to choose from.“The market is so open,” he said. “With transportation as easy as it is now, you can go anywhere.”Mr Lightbourne said he makes a point to talk to guests to get some feedback on their stay and their view of Bermuda as a tourist destination. Where he finds issues, he tries to rectify them.“Most of them really like Bermuda,” he said. “It’s just that we have to improve on our quality of service (as an Island).”Though he looks much younger than his years, Mr Lightbourne was set to retire three years ago but Elbow Beach approached him to stay on for another couple of years.“I think it’s time to move on to the next chapter in my life,” he said, adding that “I’m not going to home and be a couch potato though.”Energetic Mr Lightbourne has also been a trained and certified tour guide for the last 46 years and gives tours via taxi, which he plans to continue doing four to five days a week.“I enjoy that — I like to meet people, I like to show them the Island and its history,” he said. “I’m going to give something back and sell the Island, that’s my goal.”Married with three adult children and five grandchildren, all boys, Mr Lightbourne knows he will be kept busy with his family and doing some travelling.Elbow Beach has a surprise party planned for him, but being that he knows everything about the hotel — Mr Lightbourne knows about the party, too.“I will definitely miss it,” he said. “But I promised the guys I would occasionally come around and pay a visit to see how everything is going.”“I’ve given 54 years of my life to this hotel,” he added. “To me it’s my second home. I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been an exciting career.”