Post by Marc LeVine on Aug 17, 2006 16:31:13 GMT -5
In Memory of Vivian Taylor
Clerk was key to borough
operation for four decades
Vivian Taylor recalled
as a knowledgeable,
dedicated employee
By dick metzgar
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Nobody epitomized the public servant more than Vivian Storey Taylor, the borough’s municipal clerk for 25 years until her retirement in 1993. She worked in the clerk’s office for 38 years.
Taylor, who served under eight mayors — from Barton Callahan through the current mayor, Michael Wilson, — once estimated that about 70 members of the Bor-ough Council had come and gone during her years in the clerk’s office.
Taylor, 79, died Sept. 22 at Bartley Manor in Jackson.
"People always considered her as Ms. Freehold," Wilson said. "She was one of the hardest working employees that I ever knew, and had the privilege of working with."
Wilson recalled that Taylor was a big help to him when he was appointed a councilman in 1979 at the age of 29.
"She was a big help with any information that I ever needed," the mayor said. "She was a very discreet person. She would give her opinion on anything, but only if asked to do so. I don’t think anybody knew as much about how the town ran as she did. She was very hard working. She never went to lunch. She would bring her lunch to work with her and eat it in her office. That office was her life."
There are those who will tell you that Taylor was the most important cog in the town’s operations during her tenure as clerk before the borough hired its first administrator, Robert Cabana, in 1984.
Former Borough Councilwoman Bar-bara McMorrow probably summed up Taylor’s contributions to her hometown best when Taylor swore her in to a second term at the governing body’s reorganization meeting in January 1993.
"I would be very remiss if I did not mention one borough employee, our clerk Vivian Taylor, with whom I have had the good fortune to work during the last four years," McMorrow said that day. "Each Monday night I remember the words of advice that she gave me when I was first sworn into the office. She told me to listen to the facts and then make the decision that was right for the town. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that she has always had the best interests of Freehold Borough in her heart.
"She is a very special person to each one of us sitting at this council table as she has been to the countless number of council people and mayors who came before us. Vivian Taylor and Freehold Borough have been perfect together, and I would like to thank her for the guidance that she has given to me," McMorrow said.
Taylor, who was a lifelong resident of the borough, was born on South Street near Throckmorton Street. She also lived on McLean Street and on Kiawah Avenue, where she lived for the last 34 years.
Her father, Joseph Storey, was one of three firemen who died from burns suffered fighting a fire on Aug. 2, 1933, in Polchak’s Cloak Factory, off an alley off Mechanic Street near Hudson Street.
"It was a day I’ll never forget, even though I was only about 10 years old," Taylor once said.
Taylor also once said during an interview with the News Transcript that she had worked almost since graduating from Freehold High School in 1940.
She was among a group of young ladies, including the late Jeannette Blair, former editor of the News Transcript, and Nancy DuBois Wood, former assistant tax collector of Freehold Township and a local historian, who graduated from the high school that year.
"I had to wait a couple of months after graduating because I was still 17 and not old enough to work yet," Taylor said.
She said going to work was the only option for many girls when she graduated, which was during the peak of the Great Depression.
"Going to college wasn’t as important as it is today," she once said. "With five children in my family, it was necessary that I go to work as soon as possible."
In recalling Taylor last week, Wood, of Freehold Township, said, "She was always dedicated to her job. We graduated from high school near the beginning of World War II for America, (and) you grew up fast in those days."
In an interview, Taylor recalled when the clerk’s office was located in the current fire department building next to Borough Hall on West Main Street.
"When I started working in November 1954, we worked out of one room over the firehouse," she said. "We were working there while Borough Hall was being constructed, until it opened in 1969. We could see it progressing from our office window. I remember we couldn’t wait until we moved into the new Borough Hall."
For almost 40 years, Taylor’s work in the clerk’s office was a labor of love.
Clerk was key to borough
operation for four decades
Vivian Taylor recalled
as a knowledgeable,
dedicated employee
By dick metzgar
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Nobody epitomized the public servant more than Vivian Storey Taylor, the borough’s municipal clerk for 25 years until her retirement in 1993. She worked in the clerk’s office for 38 years.
Taylor, who served under eight mayors — from Barton Callahan through the current mayor, Michael Wilson, — once estimated that about 70 members of the Bor-ough Council had come and gone during her years in the clerk’s office.
Taylor, 79, died Sept. 22 at Bartley Manor in Jackson.
"People always considered her as Ms. Freehold," Wilson said. "She was one of the hardest working employees that I ever knew, and had the privilege of working with."
Wilson recalled that Taylor was a big help to him when he was appointed a councilman in 1979 at the age of 29.
"She was a big help with any information that I ever needed," the mayor said. "She was a very discreet person. She would give her opinion on anything, but only if asked to do so. I don’t think anybody knew as much about how the town ran as she did. She was very hard working. She never went to lunch. She would bring her lunch to work with her and eat it in her office. That office was her life."
There are those who will tell you that Taylor was the most important cog in the town’s operations during her tenure as clerk before the borough hired its first administrator, Robert Cabana, in 1984.
Former Borough Councilwoman Bar-bara McMorrow probably summed up Taylor’s contributions to her hometown best when Taylor swore her in to a second term at the governing body’s reorganization meeting in January 1993.
"I would be very remiss if I did not mention one borough employee, our clerk Vivian Taylor, with whom I have had the good fortune to work during the last four years," McMorrow said that day. "Each Monday night I remember the words of advice that she gave me when I was first sworn into the office. She told me to listen to the facts and then make the decision that was right for the town. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that she has always had the best interests of Freehold Borough in her heart.
"She is a very special person to each one of us sitting at this council table as she has been to the countless number of council people and mayors who came before us. Vivian Taylor and Freehold Borough have been perfect together, and I would like to thank her for the guidance that she has given to me," McMorrow said.
Taylor, who was a lifelong resident of the borough, was born on South Street near Throckmorton Street. She also lived on McLean Street and on Kiawah Avenue, where she lived for the last 34 years.
Her father, Joseph Storey, was one of three firemen who died from burns suffered fighting a fire on Aug. 2, 1933, in Polchak’s Cloak Factory, off an alley off Mechanic Street near Hudson Street.
"It was a day I’ll never forget, even though I was only about 10 years old," Taylor once said.
Taylor also once said during an interview with the News Transcript that she had worked almost since graduating from Freehold High School in 1940.
She was among a group of young ladies, including the late Jeannette Blair, former editor of the News Transcript, and Nancy DuBois Wood, former assistant tax collector of Freehold Township and a local historian, who graduated from the high school that year.
"I had to wait a couple of months after graduating because I was still 17 and not old enough to work yet," Taylor said.
She said going to work was the only option for many girls when she graduated, which was during the peak of the Great Depression.
"Going to college wasn’t as important as it is today," she once said. "With five children in my family, it was necessary that I go to work as soon as possible."
In recalling Taylor last week, Wood, of Freehold Township, said, "She was always dedicated to her job. We graduated from high school near the beginning of World War II for America, (and) you grew up fast in those days."
In an interview, Taylor recalled when the clerk’s office was located in the current fire department building next to Borough Hall on West Main Street.
"When I started working in November 1954, we worked out of one room over the firehouse," she said. "We were working there while Borough Hall was being constructed, until it opened in 1969. We could see it progressing from our office window. I remember we couldn’t wait until we moved into the new Borough Hall."
For almost 40 years, Taylor’s work in the clerk’s office was a labor of love.