Farber’s Feb. 8 board of alderman meeting truly marked the end of an era as the town’s long-time city clerk/collector Marie Bounds drew a 50-year career to a close.

Bounds signed up for city duty in February 1971, at the request of then-mayor Joe Gaw. A lot has changed in the world — and Farber — since then.

“We had over 500 population then,” Marie remembers, “and there wasn’t near the rental properties. Many of the residents had lived here a long time and were active in community projects.”

After being hired by Mayor Gaw and the board, Marie had to run for election every two years, until 2001 when her family moved to the country. That’s when an election was held to make the position appointed instead of elected so Marie could continue working as city clerk.

Born in Colby, Wisc., Marie and her family would move to Cyrene, south of Bowling Green, in her youth.

“I am the second daughter from a family of 12 children — 10 girls and two boys,” she says. “So that meant us older girls had to help our mother a lot with the cooking, cleaning, and helping the younger ones.”

She graduated from Bowling Green High School in 1956 and would move to Farber in 1962.

While Marie may most commonly be known for her role with the city of Farber, she’s also earned a reputation for her homemade dishes - something she earned recognition for as Cook of the Week in a 1970s issue of The Vandalia Leader. One of her most popular dishes is an apple pie, with a twist.

“My mother called it ‘apple slices,’ ” Marie says. “It is made with a different crust and in a cake pan with a lemon glaze on the crust.”

Other favorites include a fruitcake, prepared for the Christmas season; and a New York cheesecake, for special occasions.

“I just like to cook a variety of things,” she says, “because I don’t like eating the same thing over and over. We grow a large garden and I freeze and can between 100 to 200 quarters of pickles and vegetables every year.”

With Feb. 8 now in the rearview mirror, Marie, 82, is looking forward to retirement with mixed emotions..

“I am not sure how I will feel,” she said. “I haven’t been footloose and fancy-free at any time in my life.”

But she does know what she’ll be doing when her well-earned retirement arrives.

“We have a new great-grandson who we haven't seen,” she says. “I am still treasurer of the Farber Cemetery and co-treasurer of Farber Fun Fest Committee and I’ll be helping with the Farber Sesquicentennial celebration coming up in 2022.”

Marie lives with her husband, Boyd, in rural Farber. The two have three children, Bruce, of Monroe, N.C.; Ron of Hillard, Fla.; and Karen Heaston of Columbia; six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and three step-grandchildren.