HOULTON, Maine — The town said farewell to another longtime employee Thursday at a retirement party for Claudine Blanchette
Blanchette retired from the Houlton Police Department after 38 years as the public safety clerk. She is one of the longest tenured employees with the town. Her final day with the HPD was Tuesday.
“Thirty-eight years … who would have thought that a scared young lady with two small children from Connecticut would show up, take a typing test at this local police department, get the job and then stay for 38 years,” Capt. Dan Pelletier said. “Knowing Claudine the way I do, what comes to mind is loyalty to this department. I know you think of this as your second home and care for everything that goes on here. You will be missed.”
Blanchette was hired by former Chief James W. Brown in August, 1977. “They were looking for someone to do some office work,” Blanchette said. “At that time, they didn’t have anybody working as a clerk. I was fairly new to town, coming here from Connecticut, and was looking for work.”
Blanchette said she first went to the local employment agency, where she took a typing test for possible clerk openings. She had worked at the Almon H. Fogg hardware store for a time, but was unemployed with two small children to care for.
She can still recall her interview with Chief Brown. “He sat me down in this little office with a typewriter and left me there to type,” she recall. “I hadn’t been behind a typewriter on a regular basis for probably seven years. But I guess I typed it up fine.”
Three hours later, the chief called and asked her when she could start.
Through Chief Brown, she was introduced to the man who would become her second husband, Maurice Blanchette — a firefighter who worked above the police station. The couple were married for about 30 years before he passed away.
During her time with the HPD, Blanchette has worked with five chiefs — Brown, Darrell Malone, Dan Soucy, Butch Asselin and Joe McKenna.
Milton Cone, the town’s fire chief and ambulance director, had high praise for Blanchette.
“I’ve known Claudine for as long as she’s been here,” Cone said. “Her work ethic is excellent. She is very conscienous. If there was anything wrong in the reports we sent her, she would make the corrections, and then she would make me aware of it. She never said anything negative about anyone.”
Cone added Blanchette was a “wealth of information” for both departments.
“She knew if there was information missing from a report and would fix it,” he said. “She learned more about the community from working here. I do not ever recall her ever turning me down when I asked for help with something.”
Tina Bennett will take over for Blanchette. Bennett is new to the department, having spent the past five years as a stay-at-home mother. Blanchette has agreed to be a contact for Bennett if any issues arise.
The public safety clerk is responsible for payroll at the police department, as well as billing for the ambulance department and other secretarial duties for the departments.
Working in one position for nearly 40 years is practically unheard of these days. According to the national Bureau of Labor, the average person will have 10 jobs in their lifetime. But for Blanchette, seeking employment elsewhere never entered her mind.
“I have just loved my time here,” she said. “Everyone here is just like family. This was hard work, but it was also fun. I’ve had a long journey, but it’s been a good one.”
