More than 50 years ago, Selectboard Chairman Bob Andrews was working all night long, fixing a damaged telephone cable in Athol. One of his fellow workers gave him some life advice that even at 3 in the morning, made a whole lot of sense to him.
“Make your job first and take care of your family,” the journeyman splicer told him, adding, “Later on, you can get involved in town affairs.” Andrews didn’t exactly follow what he considered to be sound counsel.
For the next 20 years, he certainly dedicated himself to raising his three daughters with his wife, Pat, and developing his career with the phone company. But because he “wanted to see things get better” and more importantly, “couldn’t say no,” Andrews began getting involved in various committees working to better conditions in the town, the region and his neighborhood of Lake Mattawa.