Wolfville town staffer Lorraine Jones retires
Lorraine Jones began working for the Town of Wolfville in 1968. It was a hot day in June when she became the third town hall staff member.
As receptionist and secretary, Jones shared a single phone with co-worker Mable Vaughan. She remembers working until midnight on the property tax deadline in late April. Town clerk Bernard Mason had over $1 million to put in the night deposit that day.
In the late 1960s, Wolfville was just getting planning regulations and town operations were less complicated, Jones recalls. For nearly 47 years, she was integral to smooth town operations, working for at least six mayors and seven town administrators.
Previous
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Roy Thomson took notes at council meetings and she typed them up.
“When we got a Dictaphone, that was really modern,” she laughs.
Day by day, she kept minutes, wrote letters and, on her own time, enjoyed contributing to town floats and food for receptions and levees. The two Decembers when a live nativity pageant took place, Jones even cleaned up after the animals.
She can tote up a list of Wolfville characters like Avery Rogers, impresario Jack Sheriff and the late mayor and “energizer bunny” Bob Stead.
One of her last contributions to the fabric of town organization was a photo record of events, like the town’s 150th anniversary and centennial and a gallery of mayors.