Robert Davis walked on the scene of the County Executive Building in Mineola back on August 16, 1950, as a new employee for the Nassau County Department of Public Works. He had just graduated from SUNY Farmingdale with a 2-year degree in Highway and Bridge Construction. Nassau County was under the leadership of its first ever County Executive Russell Sprague, and the Nassau County Sewer System Project just began.
“After we graduated, 3 or 4 of my college classmates took the test for the county,” Davis said. “I thought of it as an interim job.” Little did he know, nearly 59 years later, he would still be working for Nassau County, and would be lauded as the longest tenured Public Employee in New York State. Davis, 78, retired on July 30, as part of the Early Separation Incentive, just 2 weeks short of his 59th anniversary.
When asked why he kept the job so long, and didn’t opt for retirement decades ago, he said “I loved the job and I miss it very much. But it’s a young man’s job now.” After spending his first 25 years in Road Maintenance, Davis went into Engineering in 1975. He’s worked out of Hicksville for the past 25 years, the last 24 as Superintendent.
Davis’ retirement party was held on Sept. 9, and dozens of former co-workers, and even several past commissioners of Public Works attended to honor a remarkable public servant.
Now, after getting up and going to work for all these years, how does he plan to spend his retirement? “I’m just planning to take it easy,” the Oyster Bay resident said. After 6 decades of county service, he sure deserves to.