After six years, Walpole High School bids adieu to Rich McCarthy, a familiar and welcoming face to everyone involved with the school, as he takes up a new position of head custodian at Johnson Middle School. Since Mr. McCarthy grew up in Walpole, attended Walpole schools, and has been working within the town’s school system since 1993, he has become one of the most recognizable faces in Walpole.
Although Mr. McCarthy’s new position allows him to work with equally dedicated staff and provides him with a greater title and more leisure time, he says he will miss many of the people at WHS. He said, “Most of all I will miss approximately the 1200 students who show up 5 days a week trying to get an education, which will lead to a bright future for each and everyone one of them.” Always appreciating the students, Mr. McCarthy worked hard to help students enhance their educational experiences in any way possible. He often helps out Student Council by chaperoning events, including Mr. WHS and The Winter Ball.
Mr. McCarthy’s devotion to Walpole schools is recognized by many of the people involved with the schools. Al Brown, head custodian at WHS, said, “No one loves the town of Walpole and the high school more than him.” Mr. McCarthy also dedicates time to organizations around the town, such as the Babe Ruth League and the April Carnival fundraiser for the league. The successful amounts of participation in both have been indication’s of Mr. McCarthy’s ability for success, which will surely carry on to his new head positon.
Mr. McCarthy’s co-workers, in particular, have spoken very highly of him. Mr. Brown, who worked with Mr. McCarthy for six years, said that Mr. McCarthy’s promotion was well-deserved and that he is a hard worker. Brown said, “He was always early and rarely absent.” Mr. Brown, and all other teachers and students at WHS, understand McCarthy’s reasons for leaving the school but will miss his presence. He decided to take the head custodian position because he gets paid more and because of the change in working hours; he now works from 6am to 2pm everyday. The new schedule allows him to be an umpire for the high school softball or baseball games and allows him to be more involved in organizations that do community projects, such as the Recreation Department and the Senior Center.
On an individual note, there was an occasion where I forgot books in my locker after school hours, so Mr. McCarthy drove to the school to unlock the doors for me. Mr. McCarthy probably knew I could have completed my assignments without the books, but he was still willing to take time out of his day to help me anyways. Like me, many students have similar anecdotes of Mr. McCarthy’s friendliness.
When asked what his future plans are after this position, he said, “There is always retirement. But I’m not the type of person to just hang around and watch TV.” For now, Mr. McCarthy hopes for the best results from his new position and plans to visit WHS whenever possible, including chaperoning events, to keep in touch with many of the people he worked with for multiple years. Mr. McCarthy said, “I also would like to thank each and everyone who has wished me good luck with my new position and I will never forget how proud I am to work for the Walpole School System.”
