Appomattox clerk of courts retiring after 40 years

APPOMATTOX — A couple of weeks into her 40th year at the same job and coming up on her 65th birthday, Appomattox Clerk of Courts Barbara Williams sat in her office Thursday and cried just a little.

As of Aug. 31, the fourth-longest-serving clerk of courts in Virginia will retire.

“The people in this county, the citizens, have been so wonderful to me. I get emotional talking about it,” Williams said as her eyes began to well with tears. “It’s crazy to cry at leaving a job when you don’t have to leave.”

Williams’ first day on the job was Aug. 4, 1969. She was recruited by her predecessor, Aldah Gordon.

“The first two weeks, I literally went home every day telling my husband there is no way I will ever learn how to do this job,” she said. “After two weeks, though, I loved it.”

Six years later, in 1975, she took the helm in the clerk’s office when Gordon became ill. Soon her portrait will hang along with those of the seven other clerks to serve the county since the mid-1800s.

“I know it’s bad luck to say this, but most people don’t live to see them go up,” she said.

The computerization of the clerk’s office has been one of the biggest challenges of the last four decades, she said. Starting her career with a manual typewriter and carbon paper, she dreaded the day the office went high-tech.

Looking back, though, it has been a blessing, she said.

“Today, if we had to do manual bookkeeping, it would be impossible because of the workload,” she said.

With Appomattox County being the second-to-last county in the commonwealth to hire a county administrator in 1988, she also spent the first 13 years of her clerkship working for the board of supervisors. Until then, and for a time afterward when the first administrator left, she oversaw the county’s billing, payroll, budgeting and recording of the supervisors’ meetings.

“It was a busy place,” she said.

As a mother and grandmother, seeing young people in trouble has always been difficult, she said, but it wasn’t until 1998 that she worked the criminal case that left an “indelible impression” on her mind.

In a five-day trial, Brandon Wayne Hedrick was convicted of capital murder in the 1997 slaying of a Lynchburg woman. He was executed in 2006.

“I would never wish that on anyone to have to go through,” she said.

In spite of her encounters with county residents often in the worst moments of their lives — some of whom came into the office ready to jump over the counter, she said — she’s applied the golden rule with great success.

“No one has come into the office and been ugly with me,” she said. “People won’t believe this, but if you treat them with respect and answer their questions, they leave as nice as they can be.”

Williams said her feelings about retirement fluctuate, sometimes from day to day. In her heart, though, she said, she knows that it is time to leave.

Other than one story, which noted that she had been struck by lightning as a teenager, one of the most notable threads in the many articles written about Williams through the decades was regret at the time her career took away from her family.

“I feel like I need to have less responsibility in my life and pursue some other interests,” she said. “I have four grandchildren. I want to be able to spend some more time with my family and travel.”

Prince Edward Clerk of Courts Machelle J. Eppes, who has worked with Williams for more than 20 years, said she has a reputation statewide for being polite, helpful and knowledgeable.

“I consider her to be a special person,” Eppes said. “You can always call her and she would do her best to help you.”

Appomattox County’s deputy clerk, Janet Robertson, is slated to take over Williams’ duties at the end of the month. Because Williams is retiring within 120 days of the November election schedule, a special election is not required, she said.

A new clerk should be elected in November 2010, she said.

“She’s been a wonderful boss, mentor and a friend to me,” Robertson said. “She’s a tremendous asset to this county. She has a vast amount of knowledge and experience and many will miss her.”

A public reception in Williams’ honor is scheduled for 3 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 18 at the courthouse.