For the last 19 years, Bill Mulpas has worked for Hilliar Township, mowing the grass at township cemeteries and parks.
He recently retired, but his legacy of meticulous care for the township’s public properties won’t be forgotten, Trustee Gary Ross told the Mount Vernon News.
“We have four cemeteries and a community park and our township building,” Ross said. “He has mowed those properties for 19 years. We get so many compliments on our cemeteries and how nice they look and our park, how nice it looks. He did it all by himself. He did an amazing job.”
Mulpas would plant flowers at the cemeteries, and they were particularly beautiful each Memorial Day, Ross said.
In small townships like Hilliard, which has a population of around 2,200, cemeteries are still places of respect and reverence, Ross said.
“People really appreciate what he did to keep to keep it so nice,” the trustee said.
It’s been hard to find a replacement for Mulpas in today’s tight labor market.
“I hired somebody, and he did it for a month, and then he got another job and had to quit,” Ross said.
The township has been forced to hire a lawn care company to do the job. It was the only one of several contacted by the township that would take the job.
“Nobody wants to do it,” Ross said. “I’ve been doing the mowing, trying to be as good as Bill, but that won’t happen.”
Hilliar Township, established in 1818, was named for Dr. Richard Hilliar, an early resident of the county, according to the Knox County Historical Society. By 1840, it had a population of 1,012.
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