No one loves scrubbing toilets more than the singing janitor of Coupeville.

Lachlan Waterbury empties public trashes, cleans public toilets and occasionally landscapes downtown Coupeville, all while dressed to the nines and singing his favorite tunes. His crooning has earned his moniker as the small town’s singing janitor.

Waterbury said he was feeling sedentary in his job as a computer programmer when Coupeville Mayor Molly Hughes put together a job fair for the town. Waterbury first took on a job that involved watering plants over a summer, which in turn got him out of the office and into the fresh air. He eventually transitioned into a year-round janitor.

Working around his day job, Waterbury cleans up Coupeville every day, through rain, shine, snow and even the holidays. The hours vary seasonally; sometimes he cleans for up to four hours a day and other times his work only take two hours. The town provides all of Waterbury’s supplies — from his cleaning truck, to his bright yellow vest.

Though the job isn’t always as glamorous as it may seem.

“It can be gross; people are people,” Waterbury admitted.

The singing aspect of the gig came along later. As the black sheep of his family, always on the non-performing side, Waterbury landed an unexpectedly large role in a musical a couple years ago; he began rehearsing the songs as he tidied the town.

Shortly after, Waterbury got diagnosed with emphysema, a chronic lung disease. Suddenly, his job became a remedy to his illness; one of the best practices he could do for his lungs was to sing. Plus, he could improve his vocal skills by singing while doing physical exercise, like lifting heavy garbage cans.

Having moved around a lot in his life, Waterbury said his role as the singing janitor of Coupeville taught him how good it feels to be an active part of his community.

“Being of service to the town is just very fulfilling,” he said. “So that’s why I can say I genuinely enjoy scrubbing toilets right now.”

As Waterbury sings his way through downtown Coupeville, generally people just go about their business while others watch and appreciate it. On the rare occasion, onlookers join in, Waterbury said.

“In the last week I’ve had repeated special moments,” he wrote to the News-Times.

Waterbury started singing Christmas carols after Thanksgiving. In early December, he recalled, someone joined in for a couple lines. The same thing happened on Friday, with several people joining in intermittently.

“The song that got the most participation, by far, was the Mariah Carey tune that everyone pretends to hate so much,” he said. “Uh huh. I see you, underneath your Scrooge facades.”

One of Waterbury’s highlights of his job is watching the seasons change, giving him a bigger appreciation of his town.

“It’s really breath-taking to be out there, often alone at dawn, in various seasons and seeing the way the views all change,” Waterbury said.

Photo by Marina Blatt As Waterbury sings his way through downtown Coupeville, generally people just go about their business, others watch and appreciate it and on the rare occasion onlookers join in, Waterbury said.

Photo by Marina Blatt The town provides all of Waterbury’s supplies — from his cleaning truck, to his bright yellow vest.

Photo by Marina Blatt Lachlan Waterbury, the singing janitor of Coupeville, empties public trashes, cleans public toilets and occasionally landscapes downtown Coupeville, all while dressed to the nines and singing his favorite tunes.