Retirement is an end to the roads for Lewiston's Larry Wills

Sep. 21—Larry Wills has deep roots in the Village of Lewiston. His family history dates back to the 1830s, with some of those original members buried in its historic cemeteries.

Wills' family also has a history of DPW work, with his grandfather, stepfather and uncle previously working for the department.

"I've always had an interest in working for the community," Wills said, adding he felt it was his duty to help out.

The village superintendent has put in 31 years of service with the village DPW and now he will retire next week. His final day on the job will be Friday.

"It's been great working with you all these years," Mayor Anne Welch told Wills during this week's village board meeting, his last as a village employee.

Wills' first DPW job back in the early 1990s was throwing garbage into garbage trucks. He spent the past five years as superintendent, five years before that as deputy superintendent, and a crew leader for 10 years.

As supervisor, Wills was in charge of overseeing the village's water, sewer, and highway systems. The village DPW paves its own roads, and takes care of every village property, maintaining the sidewalks, foliage, park structures, as well as the Lewiston landing waterfront. He also responded to the occasional house call.

Some other projects taken on include installing new water main lines, a new addition to the DPW garage, and maintaining the village's historical look.

For his replacement, Wills nominated employees Anthony Nang to be the new superintendent and Rob Haskell to be deputy superintendent. The village board still has to approve both choices.

Wills had worked with them over the past decade, passing on what he knows about the job to them since he became supervisor.

"I wanted them to learn everything that I've learned over the last three decades," Wills said, "so they can pass on that information and be ahead of the game when I leave someday."

As for retirement, Will does not know what his plans are for sure — just that he will take a couple of weeks off. Maybe, he said, he'll get a part-time job and start work on a new kitchen.

"I felt it's time to maybe do something different. Mainly, I want to enjoy my family."