WILTON – Come June town meeting, Norm Gould will complete more than 40 years on the Board of Selectmen, and he’s not seeking re-election.

Elected in 1967 when the town hired a selectman, John Donald, to be town manager, Gould won Donald’s seat by six votes and has served all but two years out of the past 42, he said Friday.

“That first year the biggest issue we faced was whether to put a wooden fence around the cemetery on the Weld Road. The snowplow knocked it down and since the neighbors stopped keeping cows, we didn’t think we needed it,” he said.

A lot has changed since then.

“We used to be an island unto ourselves and made our own decisions. Now with state and federal funds, there are a lot of mandates and restrictions to consider,” Gould, 69,said.

Not only has the board changed over those years but so has the town.

“When I started there were 26 apple orchards producing apples and 23 dairy farms shipping milk in Wilton. Now there are three farms shipping milk and one or two orchards,” he said.

The town had a one-man police force and firefighters with less equipment but who could more easily leave their jobs at Bass and Forsters to fight fires. Now many work outside Wilton.

The town has gone from an active agriculture and mill base to more of a bedroom community, he said.

Those early years on the board called for members to act as overseers of the poor and Gould served as the town assessor. Everything was handwritten in an evaluation book. “There wasn’t too much sleep at times. Sometimes, I’d work till 2:30 in the morning, grab a couple hours sleep, get up and do chores and be at International Paper by 6 a.m.,” he said. “We were paid $250 a year.”

Back before programs were available to help people, the board would help them, he said.

“When people came to the town and if they were able, we’d put them to work cutting bushes,” he said. “Only once did we get taken. We gave a guy a new ax and sent him out … by 11 a.m. he had sold the ax and gone. He didn’t apply for help again.”

Over the years, Gould has been pleased with the town’s work on environmental issues, including building a sewer and wastewater system, water treatment plant and reservoir.

“Some of those things I’m proud we’ve accomplished,” he said.

A goal he’d still like to accomplish is to walk the boundaries of the town.

Gould admitted he’d miss the board and serving people but he plans to be sitting up back and listening during future meetings.

“I’ll keep an eye on things,” he said.

He’s also not ruling out serving on other town committees. His service includes 22 years on the Planning Board and time spent on the Finance Committee, Board of Assessment Review and appeals board.

A member of a Wilton family since the 1800s, Gould has been married to his wife, Jeanne, for 41 years and has three grown children. He served in the Army prior to being a selectman and worked as a fire inspector for International Paper. He also serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at the East Dixfield Baptist Church.