Following a career spanning well in excess of two decades as Town Clerk of the municipality of Wausau, Florida, Margaret Riley is holding good to her promise to retire.
On Thursday, September 21, 2023, following the conclusion of the regular Monthly Meeting by the Wausau Town Council, the community came together to enjoy fellowship and a meal with Margaret and her family, recounting stories both happy and sad revolving around the tenure of this self-effacing, hard-working woman.
‘I soon will turn 65, and if I don’t go home, I may find myself divorced’, quipped Riley at the meeting, ‘My husband is ready for me to come home’.
Riley has seen the town in good times and in bad, holding down the Town Hall duties and helping to coordinate the Wausau Possum Festival for many years.
She has seen the town progress through grants, adding parks and recreational areas as well as a facelift to the venerable Possum Palace. Now the town faces being thrown into a state of chaos for several years as Hwy 77 is four-laned, effectively cutting the small town in half.
‘The Town will not be the same without her’, quipped one attendee on Thursday evening. ‘The job is low-paying, requires long-hours and is essentially thankless, and finding someone who will actually do the job and not just want the job as clerk, will be difficult’.
