Eagle Archives, March 8, 1983: 90-year-old constable seeks 50 years on job

Source: The Berkshire Eagle

EGREMONT -- Election fever is sweeping the county as towns gear up for the annual balloting in May, and Robert E. Miller, 90, of North Egremont is not immune.

Miller will seek a three-year term as constable to complete 50 years in police work. The crusty Yankee farmer is reportedly the oldest constable in the state.

Like his father, who also served as town constable, Miller was born on the family dairy farm on Egremont Plain Road. After graduating from the former Searles High School in Great Barrington, he worked on the farm until it was sold in 1952.

Miller has served the town of Egremont in many ways, often holding more than one office at a time. He has been constable since 1936, and was police chief for 38 years until 1961. He also served as a selectman from 1952 to 1955.

A flood that washed out bridges and roads in the summer of 1955 hit the town while Miller was road superintendent. He remembers with pride the compliments the Army Engineers paid him when they came to inspect his books after that disaster.

During his years of service to the town, Miller also worked for the federal Soil Conservation Service and as a carrier for the Great Barrington post office. He retired in 1968 after suffering an injury at work at Jug End Barn.

Miller and his wife, Bessie, have been married 69 years. They had four children, two of whom survive, and 29 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Miller, a registered nurse, worked at Fairview Hospital for 10 years after World War II.

Miller takes his duties as constable seriously. He supervises elections, but no longer cranks the ballot box -- Officer Rosemary Besancon does that now. And he posts all the warrants for town meetings.

"I wished I'd have got the salaries they're getting today in police work," Miller said. "I'd have a nice nest egg."

These days, Miller spends most of his time at home on Route 71, keeping up with politics by reading the newspaper and watching television. He is a member of the Republican Town Committee.

The Selectmen propose to give Miller a raise from $200 to $300 a year if he wins re-election in May.