Town of Windham highway superintendent Gary Thorington is moseying toward pasture at 51 years old, finishing a 3-decades-plus career at the end of the year.
By Michael Ryan
WINDHAM - The name George Mulford kept respectfully coming up, talking with Gary Thorington about soon, as the seasons come and go, being Windham’s ex-highway superintendent.
That day is nearly a year away but Thorington made his retirement plans known at a town council meeting, last week, because business doesn’t simply take care of itself in his line of work, You do what needs doing.
His announcement came out of the blue for government leaders but, “I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” Thorington says. “It’s a decision I needed to make and it had to be on the record.
“I didn’t want to just walk in there and say I’m gone tomorrow. I’ve always tried to do the right thing for the town I serve.
“Out of respect, I wanted to give the town all the time it needs to get ready. And it’s only fair to give anybody who might be interested in the job an opportunity to do the same,” Thorington says.
The highway superintendent is an elected position, going through a political caucus process, this summer, and a general election in November.
Thorington’s latest 4-year term of office ends December 31, completing 31-plus years with the department, rising through the ranks old-school style.
Stretching back to his early days as a machinery operator and truck driver, respect has been the mantra for The Gipper, as Thorington is nicknamed, using his CB radio handle.
The Gipper was still damp behind the ears, a few years out of high school, graduating from Windham-Ashland-Jewett, when he initially joined the highway department, housed in a drafty, rafter-sagging building.
He’d been making a living summers as a greenskeeper at the Windham Country Club and winters grooming trails at the Windham ski center.
Wanting something with more giddy-up, The Gipper stopped at the highway garage which, back in those days, had a long waiting list for spots.
Waiting therein was George Mulford, one of the last of the genuine mountain men, with the backwoods dialect to prove it.
It was a speech pattern hard to keep up with and untangle. “There were some days I could swear I understood him,” Thorington says, laughing good-heartedly.
“George is the guy who gave me my chance when I was young. He was a good man, a good ‘ol farmer who knew how to make do with what he had.
“I have a lot of great memories of George. One of the best was back when we had an incinerator. The local police had a bunch of evidence they needed to destroy,” Thorington says.
“Their choice was by fire so they brought the stuff to the shop. Part of that evidence was some confiscated marijuana plants that had been down in the basement at the town hall for who knows how long?
“George always wore a straw hat,” Thorington says. “They tossed the marijuana in the incinerator and he started to walk over there.
“I told him not to, but over he went. The stuff was smoldering and a cloud of smoke suddenly headed toward him, like a backdraft.
“The smoke lingered under his straw hat. George inhaled it. The word “pot” wasn’t in his vocabulary so he had no idea what it was about, but we kidded him the rest of the afternoon he’d have an urge for Doritos.”
Thorington’s name will now be mentioned in the same breath as, and going up alongside Mulford’s on a plaque in the road chief’s office.
The plate was put there by current town supervisor Thomas Hoyt who was the highway super between Mulford and The Gipper.
“I never thought I’d actually be here, but I’ve aged pretty well,” Thorington says, smiling, noting the plaque honors the men holding the job since it became known as highway superintendent.
Going above and beyond, The Gipper, a few winters ago, helped rescue a pooch that wandered onto an icy creek, life-threateningly falling through.
He is also a passionate part of the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highway, a vital lobbying group.
Thorington will forfeit his spot on the executive committee’s presidential ladder, in line to take office a few years down the road.
“That’s a bummer, for sure, something I was really looking forward to.,” he says, though he will be stepping aside with gratefulness to the entire community of Windham and with a feeling of professional pride.
“Our new highway garage is awesome. People who come here, who are in the business or not, say that to me all the time. This shop makes all of us feel appreciated for what we do,” Thorington says.
“What would I say is my best accomplishment? I’d say our new de-icing program. After having it in place for a couple of years, we see a real savings in time and labor and a better efficiency of equipment.”
Thorington also started renting a boom mower, changing a months-long job of keeping roadside brush controlled with a team of men and chainsaws into silky smooth operation of two men and a few days.
The fiscal savings and job efficiency were remarkable. “Any time you make the taxpayers money go further, it’s a win win all around,” Thorington says.
“Now it’s time for another generation to step up. I don’t know what I’ll do in real life when this is over. Something I enjoy doing, hopefully with a whole lot less heavy lifting.
“What I do know is I’m a lucky guy. I’ve been part of a lot of cool things the last thirty years in the town I love and I’m not done yet.”
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