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Craig Taylor: One of the Crew

Many of us don’t stop to think about how our shoreline towns remain so pristine and picturesque despite the heavy use by both residents and tourists. In Madison, much of that is due to the town’s incredible Beach and Recreation department, which tackles a never-ending spate of requests and tasks, with Grounds and Buildings Supervisor Craig Taylor and his crew negotiating it all.

Craig says his tenure at the department began in high school and continued to his career not long after graduating.

“I grew up in Madison. I started working for Madison in high school. This April will be 20 years that I’ve been here, and including my summer help when I was in high school, it will be 23 years. I started as summer help, and when I finally decided I wasn’t going back to school, it was fall and they needed field painting [and] leaf clean up, and they asked me to stay on, and then two months later, they asked me if I wanted a full-time job and the rest is history,” Craig says laughing.

Craig says that he can’t think of a better fit for him.

“I just love being outside. It has always been a great job. I just love working with my hands. Certainly, gears have shifted a little bit with the paperwork that comes with a supervisory role, but I can’t help myself and help the guys,” says Craig. “The job is a little bit of everything, and again, I just love being outside. I work with a great bunch of guys, and it’s always fun working here. It’s a great environment. The hours are great, and there’s not much more you could ask for. We get to work down at the Surf Club; how can you beat that?”

Craig says he feels a deep connection to the town as a member of the department. Simple tasks like lining the playing fields and keeping litter from piling up are all aspects of the job that often go unnoticed but bring him and his team the most satisfaction.

“Seeing the ballfields and seeing the kids out there actually playing and actually enjoying the fields is great,” says Craig. “And we do get compliments. That can be the best part when coming from parents. When traveling teams come from out of town and use the field, they are just amazed at our facilities and how well-maintained they are. And that is great to hear, and that doesn’t happen every day. So, it is great for us to hear that. We take a lot of pride in trying to ensure the fields are always as perfect as we can get.”

Craig and the department are also responsible for mowing fields and parks, as well as snow removal.

“I can kind of do without plowing snow. After 20 years, I’m kind of over it,” Craig says. “These past few mild winters have been beautiful!”

Craig emphasizes his crew's dedication and their work on more than a dozen playing fields.

“It’s a crew of nine guys; some have been here 10-plus years, and some are just celebrating their first-year anniversary here. We always kind of joke around about it, but we are like a family here. During the winter, when we get snow, we are actually seeing each other more than our families, so we are tight,” Craig says. “It is a great environment; it’s fun and a nice mood, but they also work very hard and are really dedicated to the town and their jobs.”

Craig says there really isn’t a “typical” day for him and his crew, as so many duties are in constant demand.

“It definitely changes through the seasons. Winter can be a slower time, but we do a lot of projects like refurbishing lifeguard stands, working on equipment, and working on the gate shacks that you see at the East Wharf and West Wharf. Fall is obviously huge because of the sports. We are responsible for fall, spring, and summer because there really is no one-season sport anymore. Baseball goes from the end of March into November now, so that is almost constant. We maintain all of the ballfields in town and all of the facilities at the parks; we maintain all the parks, [and] we mow for the Board of Ed. We are spread all over town, and the job never stops,” says Craig. “We also do Salt Meadow Park, the high school complex…there are fields everywhere in town. We also pick up the trash at all the parks. During the busy months, every day, sometimes twice a day.”

Craig adds, “Spring, summer, fall, we’ve got all the beaches and all of the bathrooms. We’ve got the Surf Club, East Wharf, West Wharf, Bauer Park, and between bathrooms and trash, that’s eight hours a day for two guys just to empty trash.”

Craig says that despite the high school’s reputation for on-field excellence, he doesn’t feel pressure to make only the “big games” look their best.

“That is something that I’m very thankful for because this group of guys takes a lot of pride in their work. It’s not just a reflection of [Daniel] Hand [High School] being so great in athletics; it’s a reflection on them in their day-to-day operations. They truly want to make it look as best as possible,” says Craig. “A big thing that goes along with that is having a good relationship with the new athletic director, Chris Farrell; it has been great because we are usually on the same page…he knows what to expect from us, and he knows that it’s going to get done.”

Craig is also Madison’s Tree Warden, which comes with a whole host of duties of its own. Handling requests from residents as well as entities such as Eversource, Craig says the warden job is critical to preserving the town’s character.

“It’s tough sometimes to juggle it all because we can get so busy during the season, and it can be tough to break away even for an hour,” Craig says. “I have a list right now of all the trees that have to be checked on. This is the time of year when I can catch up on all of that, but unfortunately, it’s also the worst time of year to catch up on it because there’s no leaves on the trees. It’s a tell-tale sign if there’s no leaves on the tree — it’s dead and could be a danger. But it’s difficult to tell whether it’s dead and needs removal with no leaves at this time of year.”

Craig says whether it’s cleaning up after a storm or painting field lines perfectly straight, Madison can count on his department to get the work done.

“Everyone seems to respect what we do, and they stop and say hi and are nice to us. That is always good to hear,” says Craig. “Honestly, the guys I work with are just great. We joke about it, but we really are kind of an important cog that keeps Madison going. It’s little things we do, the simplest things. [Beach and Recreation Director] Austin [Hall] He is great. He is the man. He makes it a point to actually come over and talk to us. I’m glad the town recognizes what this group does and how valuable these guys are to this town.”