If there was ever an election for the nicest American, the people of Galveston, Indiana would know who they would nominate.
Allen McCloskey, the town’s 89-year-old gravedigger, is “there to help everyone” and is “just a special guy”, according to his neighbors.
Who is this great humanitarian? It turns out that the man who raises the people of Galveston is the same man who brings them down.
McCloskey is the town’s gravedigger and has held the position since 1952. He has buried many residents, including his wife Barbara.
“I figured she would want me to do it,” McCloskey, a father of three, said.
Steve Hartman / On the Road
He’s also had plenty of odd jobs around town and treats everyone like family, which might explain why much of the town recently got together for a surprise party honoring McCloskey.
At the party, he was honored with an official Guinness World Record for the longest career as a gravedigger. Townspeople also honored him for the thousands of odd jobs he did and the way he made life easier for the people of Galveston, all without accepting a single payment.
“We were asking Allen for a bill, and he wouldn’t give us one,” said one resident.
“You will never hear anything about this again,” added another.
When asked why he refused to accept payment, McCloskey only laughed.
“Allen understood what life is,” said a townsman. “It’s not the money that makes him happy. I sincerely believe that Allen understood where enough was enough. He found ‘enough’.”
And the weird thing about finding enough? Sometimes, like McCloskey, you end up with even more.
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Steve Hartman
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