FARMINGTON — The nicknames “Little George” and “Big George” aptly identify two men who worked together on building and grounds maintenance for seven years at the University of Maine at Farmington.
George Josselyn, 51, of Farmington is called “Little George” because he is 5 feet, 4 inches tall while George Guptill, 55, of Wilton is called “Big George” because he is 6 feet, 9 inches tall.
The two help take care of more than 30 buildings on the campus. They are getting them ready for students to arrive Saturday. Classes start Tuesday.
Both men said they will be busier once students arrive.
The Georges get along well and take teasing in a good-natured way when people see the pair together, they said.
“I don’t have to carry a ladder because I have George,” Josselyn, a first-shift crew leader of custodians, said.
Josselyn has worked for UMF for 18 years. He previously worked in produce for Hannaford for 17 years. He also has a farm with beef cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens.
Guptill has worked for UMF for eight years. Before that he worked for 15 years with C.N. Brown, where he still works part-time. He said he changed careers because he wanted to do something different.
“It is something different every day,” he said.
Both men said they enjoy working around the students.
They are considered a fixture on campus, April Mulherin, assistant director of communications at UMF, said.
Everything they do, whether it is moving office furniture for staff or helping students, comes down to making sure students have everything they need, she said.
“Once in a while, we get to have a work study (student) and enjoy showing them the ropes,” Josselyn said.
It is helpful to the students and to them, Mulherin said.
Most of the work Josselyn does takes two people. There is a lot of heavy lifting, he said.
The two joke around but still get the work done. Josselyn and Guptill both said they enjoy working together.
When the pair were in the process of taking two large grills off a truck on Tuesday, Josselyn went up on the tailgate lift to get in the truck. As the lift reached its height and Josselyn was up higher than Guptill, Josselyn said, that it is the only time he is taller than Guptill.
dperry@sunjournal.com
-
- George Josselyn, left, of Farmington, known as “Little George,” and George Guptill of Wilton, known as “Big George,” do maintenance work at the University of Maine at Farmington. Josselyn said Tuesday that the only time he is taller than Guptill is while on the highest point of a tailgate lift.
-
- George Josselyn of Farmington, left, known “Little George,” and George Guptill of Wilton, known as “Big George,” remove a grill from a truck Tuesday at the University of Maine at Farmington.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.