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BLOOMINGDALE - Former Clerk Mildred Bird remembered fondly
(by Deborah Walsh - Staff Writer - December 03, 2008)
A 1968 photo taken of Borough Clerk Mildred Bird and the Bloomingdale mayor and council. Seated from left to right are Mayor Daniel Morse, Bird and Albert PAcifico Jr., council president. Standing front left to right are Councilmen R. Howard Smith, Peter Shultis, Howard Boob, Howard Conklin, Walter Price and Borough Attorney Carmen Ferrante.
BLOOMINGDALE - Retired Borough Clerk Mildred Bird wore many hats in this borough and she wore them well. The community mourns the passing of one of its most loyal public servants.
Bird passed away on Nov. 26, 2008 after a long battle with cancer. Bird, known to most as Millie, was responsible for thoroughly modernizing the municipal clerk’s office. She served as borough clerk for approximately 25 years and held the prestigious title of president of the Municipal Clerks’ Association of New Jersey and also headed the Passaic County Clerks Association.
Jane McCarthy, Bird’s successor in the borough clerk’s office after she retired in February of 1992, recalled that Bird supported her hire and slowly trained her to be her replacement. Bird shielded McCarthy from politics to the point that she was not aware that the appointment of someone to the borough clerk’s post is sometimes a political appointment.
“Millie did everything around here.” said McCarthy. “As I look back now, I realize that she kept me out of politics so she could properly train me and so I was able to concentrate on learning the job. I had big shoes to fill.”
A force for continuing education
McCarthy said Bird was instrumental in ensuring that clerks received continuing education. Bird helped professionalize the office. Bird started as registrar of vital statistics and secretary to the Board of Health in 1963, working from her home. In 1966, she became the first borough clerk to have an office outside her home, which was located in the old municipal building. In 1968, Bird was one of 101 municipal clerks from throughout the United States and Canada who volunteered to participate in a three-year college level pilot program, which was specifically designed for borough clerks. The pilot program was held as an extension course at Syracuse University over the summer months. The pilot marked the birth of the certified municipal clerk’s title through the auspices of the International Municipal Clerks Association. She served as acting borough administrator in August of 1987 and borough administrator in June of 1989 and was the only person in the municipality to hold the title of borough clerk and administrator simultaneously.
“Millie was in the forefront of making the clerk’s office honorable and professional. It was a big feather in Bloomingdale’s cap to have Millie, from little Bloomingdale, become president of the state clerk’s association,” said McCarthy, “She was tough and busy, but was patient and took the time to guide me. Some clerks can’t let go when they retire. She did. She had the confidence in me to let me sink or swim. She let me fly.”
McCarthy offered the following eulogy at Bird’s funeral service yesterday.
Mildred C. Bird
“I looked up the word ‘Rainbow’ in the dictionary and it says… ‘An arch of spectral colors, diverse assortment or collection; an illusionary goal.’
Millie’s life mirrored a Rainbow and these roses represent the various community and state organizations that benefited by her presence.
The blue rose represents Millie’s association with the Municipal Clerks’ Association of New Jersey, the International Institute of Municipal Clerks and her beloved Passaic County Municipal Clerks.
Her career started in 1966 as municipal clerk of Bloomingdale. Who would have guessed that she would go on to be president of the Municipal Clerks’ Association of New Jersey and be instrumental in bringing the Municipal Clerk’s Office to the professional and honorable position it is today.
While involved in all of these associations, she still managed to run the everyday affairs of the Borough of Bloomingdale while holding the dual position of municipal clerk/borough administrator.
The peach rose represents gratitude. Millie was always thankful for her ability to be a conduit with the community and channeled that with her Butler Tri-Boro Rotary affiliation. They quickly recognized her leadership quality and she served as the president of Rotary.
How we Rotarians will miss our annual phone call from Millie with ‘Hi this is Millie, I will be over to pick up your sold tickets for the raffle.’
The pink rose represents her membership in the Bloomingdale Fire Department Women’s Auxiliary. Millie knew only too well the importance of our volunteers and she too “gave back” to the community through her involvement.
The red rose represents courage. Millie knew the importance of never forgetting our veterans and the sacrifices they made and continue to make for the love of their country.
Through her membership with the VFW Post No. 9458 Ladies Auxiliary and the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary, she made sure that the community recognizes their efforts through organizing our Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies and was instrumental in registering our WW II Dough Boy statue in the Federal Register.
The lavender rose represents her membership in the Tri-Boro Area Chamber of Commerce. Millie was probably the “First Lady” of Bloomingdale and strove to encourage new businesses to get involved and envision what she foresaw for the town.
The yellow rose represents joy and friendship. After Millie retired, she continued to utilize her talents in her membership in the Golden Age Club – taking some time for herself and at the same time helping others.
The white rose represents family. Millie would always share with us her love of Don and their plans for when they retired – only taken away from her far too early.
One would just have to look at her face when she spoke of Alan, Edward, Jane, Michael and Jeffrey and know of her love for her family – a mother’s love needs no words.
And finally, the orange rose represents pride. I am proud to call Millie my mentor and my friend. Through her guidance, she helped nurture a shy young girl who never was a public speaker through the years so that she could be able to stand before you like I am today. But then again, her life speaks for itself.
We love you Millie and as you have found out, one day we will find out for ourselves that true love and fulfillment lie at the end of the rainbow. God bless and keep you.”
Bird touched thousands of lives during her many years of serving the borough in various capacities. Borough officials recalled her as professional and dependable. The respect she earned transcended party lines.
The Honorable Anthony Graziano, now a state Superior Court judge presiding in Paterson, served as a Democratic councilman in 1986 and as mayor from 1987 to 1990. Prior to that, he was a member of the Bloomingdale Planning Board for about a dozen years.
“Millie saw a lot of people come and go and she treated everyone the same. She was respectful and loyal from the very beginning and did not care whether you were a Democrat or Republican. You could rely on her as clerk and when she served as borough administrator. She was very straight and did not let politics influence her. When you asked her to do something, she treated you like you were her favorite mayor in the whole world. She was an outstanding borough clerk and set an example for people to follow and they did. You could tell her something in confidence and you knew she would keep that confidence,” said Graziano.
Always a straight answer
Richard DuHaime served as a Republican councilman from 1980 to 1983 and later as a Republican Passaic County freeholder from 1984 to 1996.
“Millie was very competent as an administrator and clerk. She was a no-nonsense type of person. I was in politics long enough to know that when you asked someone a question, sometimes they would give you the answer they thought you wanted to hear. Millie would always give you the answer straight. She was very honest. You could always depend on her. I was saddened to hear of her passing,” said DuHaime.
Current Mayor William Steenstra began as a councilman after Bird retired as borough clerk, but knew her because of her never ending community involvement. Recently, he informed Bird that the borough planned on naming a street after her.
“It was a good feeling to see her happy. Millie was always calm. She was always on an even keel. She never said a bad word about anyone,” said Steenstra. “She was Bloomingdale. She did everything for this town. She was a special lady.”
Funeral services were held yesterday at the Morrison Funeral Home, 86 Bartholdi Ave. in Butler and at the Bloomingdale United Methodist Church. Burial followed at Mount Rest Cemetery in Butler.
She is survived by her two sons, Alan of Bloomingdale and Edward of Berlin, Conn.; two grandsons, Michael of Wethersfield, Conn., and Jeffrey of Berlin, Conn.; and several nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband, Donald, in 1991; a sister, Cecelia, in 2002; and her brother, Clarence, in 1975.
Memorial donations to the Bloomingdale United Methodist Church, the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department, Tri-Boro First Aid Squad or Butler Tri-Boro Rotary would be appreciated.
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