`Mayor' Charlie Bolack to be recognized.

Byline: Susan Spencer

GRAFTON - Townspeople know Charles N. "Charlie" Bolack as the longtime publisher of The Grafton News; as the organizing founder and head of the Grafton Suburban Credit Union for 30-plus years; as the 29-year chairman of the Community Relations Council at Grafton Job Corps; as chairman of the town Finance Committee for 15 years; as a founding member of the Grafton Land Trust; and as a Grafton Water District commissioner, to name a few significant roles.

Schoolchildren know Mr. Bolack as the man who brings in his oversized, stuffed, bandaged-up Curious George, and reads "Curious George goes to the Hospital" to them.

And for the last 30 or 40 years, residents have known him as the town's "unofficial mayor," now simply referred to as "the mayor."

Mr. Bolack will be honored at the town of Grafton's Recognition Night on Nov. 14 at Highfields Golf and Country Club, an event which sold out even after the available seating was expanded to 170 from 150. Fifteen speakers will each share an anecdote about Mr. Bolack, and the 14-piece Point & Swing Big Band will perform.

"I enjoy life very much," Mr. Bolack said. "I go to work every day, and I'm in good health."

The 83-year-old civic leader, who moved to Grafton from Worcester in 1944 and built a retail shoe business, has an engraved wooden sign hanging on the wall behind his desk at The Grafton News, which says, "If you're healthy, you're wealthy," an adage Mr. Bolack lives by.

He said he considers the role The Grafton News has played as a unifying force in the community his most satisfying accomplishment.

"When I first came here, there were three towns: North, South and Center," he said. "The hoi polloi lived in the Center, the people who worked in the mills lived in the South, and the average people lived in the North."

A North Grafton resident and business owner who proudly claims friends throughout town, Mr. Bolack said, "The newspaper carried articles and associations that brought everyone together. That makes me the happiest; we brought Grafton together."

Mr. Bolack retains much of Grafton's living memory. He recalled that town business used to be carried out at the barstools of the former Klondike Inn, located at Providence and Milford roads in South Grafton.

"It's a historic place. Four of us fellows went to John F. Kennedy's inauguration from there. The ticket cost $6, and I still have it," Mr. Bolack said. He said his inauguration ticket will be encased and put in a proper place at the site, whatever the next owner does with the now-vacant building.

Mr. Bolack recalled the days when house lots in North Grafton sold for $200 and when Wyman-Gordon purchased the former poor farm for $4,400.

Grafton also had its own welfare department, which would place people in low-paying jobs at Prest-Wheel, a local lawn-furniture manufacturer. At the end of the week, the town would supplement their meager pay. "If they didn't show up at Prest-Wheel, they didn't get anything," he said.

Mr. Bolack confidently asserted, "There is no graft in Grafton," and never has been through all his years of involvement in local government and business.

While Mr. Bolack's love for the town is profound, he also acknowledged the importance of a succession plan. At a recent meeting at Highfields, he appointed Joseph Tancrell as the assistant unofficial mayor.

"Without counting the vote, I declared it unanimous," he said.

Selectmen sitting at a nearby table shook their heads. Mr. Bolack recounted, "They said, `He's not in the charter, so we have no control over him.'"

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Charles N. "Charlie" Bolack

PHOTOG: SUSAN SPENCER