Carpenter has kept Robbinsville orderly for decades
Robbinsville – There aren’t many people who can say they have worked at the same job for only 40 years.
Bud Carpenter has worked for the Town of Robbinsville since he was in his 50s.
He just recently turned 95.
Town officials say Carpenter is the oldest municipal employee in the state – something that can’t be precisely verified, but would be hard to dispute. It is probably true, but if it isn’t, it’s true enough.
Carpenter rises with the sun each weekday, dons a bright-orange reflective vest, collects his tools and the moment he steps out his front door off South Main Street, he’s at work. Rain or shine.
A salaried town employee, Carpenter can set his own schedule and for the most part he has one job: to keep Robbinsville tidy.
Lanky and lean, friendly and engaging, Carpenter makes his way along Main Street, past the courthouse and down the hill, picking up trash and depositing it into the bag he carries around his shoulder. When he reaches the end, he crosses the street and heads the other direction, up the hill and past the courthouse again.
It’s a journey that would be challenging to some people half his age.
Then he turns onto East Main Street, past Lynn’s Place restaurant and all the way down the hill and back up again.
It’s impossible not to notice him when he’s at work. People who encounter him stop him just to chat. He’s well-known around town and famously hands out dollar bills to young people he encounters.
It’s a fascinating story, but doesn’t end there.
Family tradition
Bud Carpenter works for his grandson Chadd Carpenter, the town’s maintenance supervisor.
Bud’s age is an estimate. His birth records were destroyed in a fire and his age is estimated based on notes in a family Bible.
Before joining on with the town, Bud worked with a contractor, and hand-dug most of the town’s water and sewer lines.
To this day, the town has relied on his impeccable memory to locate underground utilities that he helped install a half-century ago.
Bud used to live out Franks Creek Road and walked seven miles to work in the morning, and seven miles home each night. Over time he decided that it would be easier if he lived in-town and took up residence off South Main Street.
Generally speaking, he won’t accept rides.
Chadd has worked for the town for 10 years and has been maintenance supervisor for coming up on seven years.
He supervises a six-person department that includes his grandfather, Bud.
“He’s done this for as long as I can remember,” Chadd said. “Co-workers come pick him up and have him help repair the water and sewer lines. His knowledge of this system is incredible. He could take you back and find a line within inches.
“He’s a big part of the reason I work here. He always loved his job, always has a big smile. If he loved it that much, it couldn’t be bad.”
Bud strikes one as the type who would bring joy to anything he does.
“He’s probably one of the best people you could ever meet,” Chadd said. “I never heard him say a bad word about anybody.”
A widower, Bud’s wife Bunavee suffered from an aggressive cancer and died quickly from it about a decade ago, Chadd said.
Even after her passing, Bud – then a man in his mid-80s – went back to work.
“He pretty much gave his whole life trying to help this town,” Chadd said. “He loves his job. He could have retired and been done.”