LONGTIME COUNTY PARK SUPERINTENDENT CHESTER MCCAIN TO RETIRE IN FALL

After about three decades of county service, Chester "Chet" McCain will turn in his park department cap and call it quits.

He is retiring at age 62, ready to hunt, fish and spend time with his grandchildren. In light of McCain's service as a road patrol volunteer, county coroner and finally park superintendent, former and current county officials say nobody deserves to rest more.

"Chet put a lot of personal, hard labor into the county park and didn't just supervise other people," former presiding commissioner Gene Huckstep said. "He has done a tremendous job out there."

An electrical contractor and Air Force veteran, McCain began dedicating his time to the sheriff's department road patrol in the early 1960s. The patrol was a volunteer law enforcement organization that only received compensation for uniforms, weapons and a car.

It was a dangerous job for no money, but McCain said everyone was well trained and enjoyed the work.

In 1975, when Cape County Coroner George Rouse resigned, the governor appointed McCain to fill the unexpired term.

"I was well known by politicians, and that was 90 percent of it," McCain said, explaining his appointment. "I was recognizable."

His notoriety didn't help in 1976, when a wave of Democratic popularity swept the nation and Republican candidates didn't do well. McCain jokingly blames President Jimmy Carter for his loss, as well as for the loss of his electrical contracting business when the economy dipped.

"I had sold out my business -- Carter took care of that -- so I talked to the County Commission about the park superintendent job," he said. "I intended just to work here a year or two and then get back into my electrical career, but this was a challenging job with good benefits."

Perhaps calling the job challenging doesn't give the whole picture. Huckstep called the south side of Cape County Park "a jungle," and noted that the north side wasn't exactly paradise.

Because of the park's condition, not many families went out to enjoy it. Hooligans spent a lot of time in the dilapidated shelters and dirty restrooms.

The commission even considered shutting the place down to save money, but placed their last-ditch hopes on McCain.

He didn't let them down, as evidenced by the park's lush 225 acres, complete with 18 picnic shelters, seven restrooms, playground equipment, ponds and memorials. And the two-man workforce McCain started with is now five full-time and five part-time employees.

"I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I visualized what the park could look like," he said. "I told the commission to give me 10 years, and I could make it look nice."

Locals aren't the only ones impressed with Cape County Park. The governor of Maine was on a motor tour of the United States about six years ago and stopped in to use the restroom in the park.

A few days later, McCain received a phone call from him.

"He said he had used restrooms all across the United States, and ours were the cleanest in the whole country," McCain said.

The commission hasn't named a replacement for him yet, but McCain's last day is Oct. 31. Then he plans to spend time with wife Darlene, grown daughters Cheryl Jansen and Marcia Clark, and his five grandchildren.

"Everybody says you can't really retire, but I'm sure going to try," McCain said.