REED PLANTATION, Maine — After 38 years of public service, Reed Plantation Town Clerk Nyoka Irish is calling it quits.
Born Nyoka Hoyt in Monticello and later raised in Connecticut, Irish married Blaine Irish from Reed Plantation and they settled there, raising two daughters. Blaine was known as “Buck” and was the fire chief of the Reed Plantation Volunteer Fire Department for many years until he died in 2015.
Nyoka Irish continues to work full time in Danforth at the Rehabilitation Center, where she oversees and performs all maintenance work. Irish worked with Town Manager Joan Emery for many years and then spent 10 years working with Mitch Lansky.
Irish also worked with Daniel Swain for one year; Gilberte Mayo for one year; Shannon Cropley for 10 months; and most recently Diane Hines for almost two years.
She has also worked with countless members of the town’s Board of Selectmen. She spent considerable hours note taking, managing elections, selling Inland Fisheries and Wildlife licenses and registrations, dog licensing, doing town meeting notifications and taking minutes at town meetings.
Mandatory trainings for the state were also taken seriously by Irish and she sought her status as a “Certified Clerk.” That process took many hours of training and unfortunately was cut short as she cared for her husband in his illness.
Irish said she looks forward to having more free time as she loves time with her family and
tending her home and gardens in Reed Plantation. Irish announced her retirement at
the June selectmen’s meeting.
A new clerk, Sally Taylor was elected at a Special Town Meeting on July 20.
A record number of voters turned out for this meeting as word of a party for Irish spread through the town a week before the meeting. Irish received a plaque from the chairman of the board Mitch Lansky, a dozen yellow roses and a cake that had written on it “Thank You 38 Years” along with other farm fresh refreshments.
