Pat Vincent Retiring After 20 years at Transfer Station

For more than 20 years, the distinctive locks, gait and personality of Pat Vincent have been a staple at the town’s transfer station.

“It’s always a pleasure to come to the dump and see Pat,” said resident Alan Hanson, who added that Vincent is a hard worker.

But Vincent is retiring and this is the last week he will be found working at the station’s trailer, filling out paperwork, cleaning out an overly stuffed exchanged shack or running a backhoe or wood chipper.

The 60-year-old resident said he’s “tired” and ready for some “relaxing.”

That may mean more time to watch sports and listen to rock ‘n roll but likely he will still find plenty of social contact at the counter of his favorite coffee shop. And Vincent said that is what he has loved about the job - conversing with and helping others.

“I’m a people person,” he said.

A 1968 graduate of Canton High School, Vincent has lived in town his entire life. His father Henry was a second-generation owner of Vincent Funeral Home.

A Vietnam Veteran, Vincent served in the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1972.

“I went to Woodstock and then the service,” Vincent said.

For his working career, Vincent was a carpenter for many years.

In 1982, however, he was hit by a motorcycle and suffered a head injury and weakness in his right side, still evidenced by a slight limp.

It also put him out of work for a year. Once he was well enough to work, Vincent found various assembly jobs and eventually landed a job working on brakes for Inertia Dynamics, a company once located in Canton.

After being laid off, he ran into a friend who told him about the opening in town.

“I went right down to Town Hall and applied,” Vincent said. “The rest is history.”  

That was January of 1991 and since then he's been a familiar face to many in town.

“Patrick’s work here speaks for itself,” said Public Works Director Robert Martin. “He’s a good man and we’re going to miss him… He’s certainly dedicated a large part of his life to Canton.”