BETTER THAN HEARSAY - Putting Two and Two Together

Multiple themes were needed to celebrate the combined retirement and birthday parties for Amy Lloyd, with Potter Hollow Union Church Pastor Michael Ryan providing not one (as shown) but two cakes.

WINDHAM - A whole new profession could be on the horizon, one she hadn’t counted on, which is very out of the ordinary for Amy Lloyd.

Lloyd is recently retired from Windham-Ashland-Jewett school, spending the past decade working in the Accounting Department.

She kept the books at Windham Mountain Club for fourteen years before moving to WAJ and, prior to the ski slope gig, handled additions and subtractions at Lacy Ford in Catskill.

Accounting is what she’s done, landing a job fresh out of high school, fifty-two years ago, and basically never abandoning the abacus.

Amy was born and raised on a small family farm in the county seat, gaining the attention of her teachers arising from her aptitude in arithmetic.

She got her start at Lacy Ford when one of the owners contacted the school, asking if any students were talented in tidy tabulating.

Amy more than fit the description, wearing the cap and gown in June and being on the payroll in July, 1973, ardently learning the ropes. 

The reasoning is as simple as one plus one equals two. “I like numbers,” she says. “There’s nothing to argue about with them.”

Likewise, there was no fussing about choosing blue-and-white placemats, honoring the WAJ school colors, for her retirement luncheon, actually a combination sendoff and birthday party.

There was, however, the customary dither about the date. The bash took place January 3 at the venerable Potter Hollow Union Church, not even trying to hold it on December 31 which isn’t anything new for Amy.

She is a New Year’s Eve baby, an entrance into this world that proved prophetic. “I was my father’s tax deduction,” she says, laughing.

The good news is it translated into a lifetime of loving ledgering. The not so good part is that planning a normal birthday party has often been ill-fated, with most folks focused on midnight countdowns and popping bubbly.

So the intent was to gather on January 1, but Potter Hollow Union Church pastor Michael Ryan had car trouble, and it wouldn’t have seemed right without his wife Judi and him there, so the schedule got shifted.

As usual. But speaking of car trouble, Amy also did bookkeeping for Lloyd’s Garage in East Durham, owned by her husband, Lawrence Lloyd.

That was for one year, in-between Lacy Ford and the ski center. They’ve been hitched 30 years. “I waited because I wanted to get it right the first time. He is one of the most caring individuals I know,” Amy says.

It was Lawrence who got Pastor Ryan road-ready so that Judi and he could travel to and from Illinois in time to serve as party hosts. Hallelujah!

Which brings us to Amy’s possibly ensuing unexpected career. Her first day of staying home in more than half-a-century was this past Monday 

“It wasn’t as odd as I thought, since I’d been off from work for the holidays anyway,” she says, “But it did feel like I should be doing something other than doing nothing.” 

That something might be nothing she ever figured on. “My husband moves cars around with a backhoe. One day he wanted me to help,” Amy says.

“I thought ‘No’ at first but the next thing I knew I was on it. I’ve run it a little bit now so I might get some more lessons,” she says, with a totally untypical, putting two and two together twinkle in her eye.