After 22 years, Marlborough Highway Superintendent Gael Appler Sr. decided it was time to retire. He attended his last Town Board meeting on Monday night.

Supervisor Al Lanzetta said Appler has done a great job for Marlborough.

“I want to acknowledge that the town appreciates all your hard work and dedication,” he said. “From the bottom of my heart I thank you very much. It was a pleasure to serve with you and to be your friend; it’s meant a lot to me.”

Councilman Howard Baker said, “I just think you have probably the best highway department in the county if not southeast New York and if not the state. That’s all due to your vision Gael so we really thank you. You should be proud of what you’ve done.”

Councilman Scott Corcoran said he was most impressed with Appler’s detailed knowledge of his field.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with you Gael, being on the board 8 years. When I came to you you never said straight-out no to me but said let me think about it. For the most part you have always done what this Town Board has asked of you and I appreciate everything you’ve done,” Corcoran said.
Councilman Allan Koenig remembers working for Appler two decades ago.

“I got to see how he is as a boss and to learn from him on how to be a boss,” Koenig recalled.

Koenig said Appler inherited a highway department that was “in need.”

“Sure enough he got the right equipment in there at the right time. Not only that but what he does with his crew; he sends his guys to the Cornell School and the Road Master Program. He is the epitome of what a good boss and a good manager is, so congratulations Gael. I hope you enjoy your retirement.”

A standing ovation followed.

In a subsequent interview Appler said prior to his long service to Marlborough he worked a lot of different jobs.

“I worked for my brother for a time delivering fuel oil and propane, doing some blacktopping and all that stuff,” he said.

Appler is proud of his service to the town, pointing out that he has faced significant challenges in his job.

“Everything but a plague of locusts and everything else we’ve had, but I always enjoyed the work,” he recalled.

Appler said when he came aboard, the equipment in the department was “terrible,” especially the trucks. He said it took a long time for the town to get the needed money to purchase new equipment.

Appler said the condition of the roads back then was also not very good. He said there are a little more than 60 center lane miles of roads in town that his department has to maintain and pave.

“The only thing you had was the center, the edges were all gone and a lot of the roads hadn’t been paved in thirty years,” he said.

Appler said currently he has a crew of 9 full time employees and one individual who fills in during the summer. In the winter season he may have a couple of men to help out when they are facing a long storm with expected heavy accumulations.

Appler said John Alonge, who has 24 years of service in the department, was elected the new Superintendent.

“I feel comfortable with him; he knows what to do,” Appler said.

Appler grew up in Marlborough, served his country in the Air Force and after he returning home from Vietnam he met and married his wife Janice in 1974. They have two sons, Gael Jr. and John and three grandchildren.

Appler is now 73 years old and plans to spend more time hunting and fishing up near his cabin above Phoenicia.

“Life’s good and I feel good, but it was time to leave,” he said.