Last week, when I introduced myself to Collis employee Kathy McTaggart and asked her if she would be willing to tell me a little about herself, she blushed. She wasn’t sure if she was the right person to do an interview. Luckily for me, another Collis employee overheard our conversation, caught her eye and encouraged her to give me a chance to formally introduce her to campus.
“You can tell everyone you’re from Boston and a Springsteen fan,” he said.
But that was just the beginning of getting to know arguably one of the sweetest employees the College has ever seen.
If you’ve ever eaten at Collis, you probably know McTaggart as the curly-haired, bright-eyed woman who works the register. My freshman year, I had the grave misfortune of having 7:45 a.m. drill four days a week. I would stumble from the fourth floor of Russell Sage to Collis, where McTaggart’s smiling face greeted my substantially less pleasant one. I didn’t know her at the time, but McTaggart’s encouraging good morning greeting somehow made the prospect of getting snapped and pointed at for 45 minutes seem bearable.
McTaggart and I chatted outside of One Wheelock last week, and as cheerful as she is at work, her off-the-clock personality might somehow be sweeter. She speaks with an unwavering smile and the charming accent of a Boston native who values family time and New England winters.
“I grew up in a pretty big family with seven of us – four brothers and two sisters,” she said. “We lived in Jamaica Plain, Mass., which is technically Boston. I went to Catholic school for eight years, and then public high school because I wanted to try to relate to my own area and neighborhood.”
McTaggart’s neighborhood was tight-knit, she said, and a constant stream of visitors came and went to her family’s house.
“Relatives would visit any time of the day. It was just a fun place to be,” she said. “We would have block parties, and in the summer we would have cookouts.”
As the eldest daughter in her family, McTaggart recalled being very close with her mother, Margaret Rose Rusk, while growing up. Her mother, she said, was constantly busy taking care of the children and planning family meals. A couple of trips to the cinema stand out as special memories they shared together.
“When I was young, my mother took me to see ‘Gone with the Wind’ [(1939)], and I still watch it even though it was the longest movie ever made,” she said. “I fell asleep at one part, but she filled me in when I woke up.”
McTaggart did not attend college after graduating Jamaica Plain High School in 1971, meeting Jim, her husband of 38 years, the following year.
They met, she recalled with a smile, working at a Boston bank. “I had just started there, and he was asked to train me on one of the machines. We started dating and got to know each other, and we’ve been best friends ever since.”
After getting married in 1975, the couple moved around with their two children, Julie and Kevin, to find better employment opportunities. During the eight years they lived in Titusville and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., she missed her family and the snow, and she was excited when a job interview at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center landed them back in New England.
She has lived in Norwich for over a decade. She said she began working at Collis after spotting a newspaper ad listing the job in 2007. While McTaggart said her position at the register was initially overwhelming because of how hectic Collis can be, she now gives the College all-around wonderful reviews.
“I try to think of everyone individually, but yet as a part of the community,” McTaggart said. “Everyone here makes me feel so respected, which is nice. I think we work together as a great team and try to give students the best service we can.”
Spending time with students every day, McTaggart said, is her favorite part of the job.
“I have so many favorite students,” she said. “I just love when students come in. I like seeing them smile, and if someone is kind of down, we’ll talk about it. When they leave, I feel like my own son or daughter is gone, but when they come back to visit me, it’s so great. ”
Her coworkers at Collis said they see her as witty, always up for a good laugh and some teasing. Collis supervisor Chris Magliola often makes coffee with grinds in it, and has been responsible for many coffee disasters. McTaggart will endearingly scold him, telling him not to make the coffee, Collis supervisor Eleanor Cassady said.
McTaggart is known at Collis for having a voice like Jean Stapleton’s in “All in the Family.” One employee often approaches McTaggart and mimics her voice: “Hey, Archie!”
When McTaggart is not working at Collis, she enjoys browsing craft fairs, sidewalk sales and summer markets and taking walks. McTaggart frequently sees her daughter and son, who work at an elementary school in Enfield and DHMC, respectively.
One aspect of her Boston heritage that McTaggart won’t give up is her love for the Red Sox. Growing up, she would go to a game at Fenway Park every summer, frequently attending home Celtics games as well.
“I was very happy when we won the World Series,” she said. “It was interesting in Collis because my boss is a Dodgers fan, and my supervisor is a Yankees fan. We always have fun with that communication going on, and then the students join in.”
McTaggart discovered her music idol, Bruce Springsteen, in 1982, after buying his “Born to Run” album.
“I started listening to it, and it was like, ‘Oh my god,’” she said.
Her first Springsteen concert was in Worcester, Mass., during his “Tunnel of Love” tour. She has since attended 13 Boston concerts.
Down the road, McTaggart hopes to continue her job at Collis, attend another Springsteen concert and perhaps pick up yoga. She finds sincere enjoyment in the little things and recognizes that life has a way of turning out all right. With the term already picking up speed, students could perhaps learn a thing or two from her peaceful demeanor and sweet smile. Next time you’re craving that afternoon smoothie, stop in and ask her how she does it.
