After 57 years on the job, this town clerk has worked to her Heart's Content
Alice Cumby has managed the affairs of this Trinity Bay town since 1968
It was late in the afternoon on Oct. 28, and Alice Cumby was preparing the agenda for the town council's regular meeting in Heart's Content.
It's something she's done for an astonishing 57 years, but suddenly the words of her four children entered her mind.
She's advancing in age and her mobility has declined. They had been urging her to retire from her busy job as clerk-manager in this picturesque Trinity Bay community and spend more time with their father — her husband — retired postman Frank Cumby.
She started typing her resignation letter, and presented it to the town council that evening.
"I'm done," she said to Frank that night.
On Friday, Alice Cumby will work her last day. She's retiring, and in this town, that's a big deal.
"I don't think we'd had the stuff around we got. She's a really a book of knowledge. She's definitely going to be missed," said Mayor Doug Piercey.
Deputy Mayor Glenda Best has organized a retirement dinner for Alice on Saturday night. More than 100 people will gather to say thank you to their beloved clerk-manager.
"She's finally going to put her feet up, but she's going to be missed. Very much so," said Best.
Her husband retired in the late 1990s, so he looks forward to this next chapter in their lives. But Frank Cumby is proud of his wife's dedication to her community.
"She loved the job and she loved the people. When she was able to help them out and she loved that," he said.
Started out as a teacher
For most people, a 25- or 30-year career is a fine accomplishment. But for Alice Cumby, she was just getting warmed up at that point.
After trying her hand at teaching and running a youth program, she started collecting taxes and running the affairs of this community in the winter of 1968, six years before it was incorporated as a town.
She started with a pen and a minute book, working two afternoons a week in the beginning for a monthly salary of $100.
She had no idea the job would become her passion; her lifelong vocation.
"But as the years went by I never wanted to let go," she said during an interview this week.
But now she's about to let go, and she's nostalgic. She visits the archives room in the town hall and thumbs through hand-written meeting minutes from the 1970s.
It was a time when the town was introducing modern services such as water and sewer. Then came other services such as street lights, garbage collection and a fire brigade.
The town has a unique history, and is deeply connected to the pioneering days of transatlantic communications, with the first successful undersea telegraph cable landed at Heart's Content in 1866. The local cable station is a big attraction, operating as a seasonal museum.
Alice Cumby was there through it all, and now she's training her replacement. Her advice to her successor is simple: be respectful and helpful to the citizens, and be ready for some tough days.
"But you're going to have a lot of good ones," she said.
It's a bittersweet time for Alice. She's sad that this satisfying chapter — an extended chapter, at that — is ending. No more chasing down delinquent taxpayers, evening meetings, or worrying about the new Municipalities Act or development regulations.
WATCH | After nearly six decades on the job, Alice Cumby is training her replacement:
She says she's little scared about how she will adapt to retirement, and giving up her hectic days for a life of leisure. But she had no regrets.
"I just love it. I loved people. I loved interacting with government, you know, applying for grants," she said.
Dozens of town councillors have come and gone during her time here, but one names rises above the rest. The late Don Blundon was mayor for 50 years.
"Fantastic. We got along very well. And he did well. He was a good mayor," said Alice.
Alice has laid a good foundation in this town. The finances are stable. And she's confident there's a bright future for Heart's Content.
"It's a beautiful place. It's got beautiful people," she said.
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