Hubley family members (l to r) Matthew with his uncle Joseph and father George Jr.
By Ed Karvoski Jr.
Southborough – For the first time in about 70 years the Southborough Fire Department doesn’t include a Hubley family member. On Jan. 31, George “Skip” Hubley Jr. retired after serving 43 years with the department including 15 as a call firefighter and then 29 as call fire lieutenant.
Hubley’s informal training began as a preteen from his father, George Sr., who started as a call firefighter in the mid-1940s after serving in World War II, and retired as a call fire lieutenant in 1986.
“I went with my father to a lot of the calls in Southborough – except if I was in school or if it was a school night,” he said. “I was kind of a big, rugged kid and I always helped out by doing chores that some of the older guys asked me to do. I basically learned the tricks of the trade as I grew up.”
The family tradition continued in the department. Hubley’s younger brother Joseph retired a few weeks earlier than him after 37 years, first as a call firefighter and then full-time for 29. Their late brother John, who passed away in 2008, was with the department for about 20 years, first as a call firefighter and then as a full-time clerk and dispatcher. Hubley’s son Matthew joined the department in 2006 then left when he married and moved out of town in 2012.
Throughout 43 years, Hubley served with five fire chiefs. Current Fire Chief Joseph Mauro expressed a respect for Hubley’s work ethic.
“It was always a pleasure working with Skip,” Mauro said. “He devoted a lot of his time and energy not only into his full-time job, but at the fire department, too.”
Mauro believes that Hubley displayed a good example for the next generation of firefighters.
“Somebody like Skip and what he brought to the department is irreplaceable,” he said. “You can’t duplicate his knowledge and experience as a firefighter, which he passed on to others coming up in the department.”
Hubley shares the similarity of multiple family firefighters with Mauro, whose brother John Jr. retired as fire chief in September 2011 after 38 years with the department. The Mauro brothers’ father, John Sr., served the department for nearly 50 years before retiring in 2010.
“Firefighting is in our blood,” Mauro said.
Soon after Hubley turned age 18 in 1971, he became a call firefighter during the summer before entering his senior year at Algonquin Regional High School (ARHS). Some of his classmates from Northborough were call firefighters with their town’s fire department.
“I never missed any school,” he said. “Firefighting is something that I always wanted to do.”
Eleven months after Hubley started, the fatal fire at the Hotel Vendome in Boston occurred.
“Nine firefighters lost their lives in that fire,” he recalled. “It made a big impact on all fire departments. For me being new at the time, it was kind of a wake-up call, telling us that’s what can happen in this type of job.”
After graduating from ARHS in 1972, he continued as a call firefighter and began working full-time at the Massachusetts Department of Natural Resources (now known as Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation).
“The call firefighting didn’t conflict with my full-time job, so it worked out fine,” he said.
Hubley has firsthand memories of what became known as the Second Great Chelsea Fire in 1973. He was among the Southborough firefighters who assisted with two engines and a ladder truck. The fire burned 18 city blocks. It started 200 yards from the origin of the Great Chelsea Fire of 1908.
When his father retired as the call lieutenant in 1986, Hubley was appointed to that position.
“Firefighting is really a young person’s job because it’s so physically demanding,” he said. “I was the new kid on the block when I first started and I got to work with a lot of the old-timers who passed their experience to me. Hopefully, I’ve passed down my experience to some of the younger people.”
On April 1, Hubley retired from his full-time job as district supervisor at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, where he worked in various capacities for 43 years.
Photos/submitted
