Susan von Steiger recalled a time when she was a Council on Aging director leading a group of women off-Island for a day of shopping, when one of the women misplaced the group’s ticket for the ferry.
“Bridget told us, ‘Don’t worry about it. Go have a good time,’” she said of Steamship Authority terminal manager Bridget Tobin. “She cares about the Island and the people.”
And on Tuesday morning, a steady stream of people showed how much they care for Tobin at a retirement reception, where else but inside the Oak Bluffs terminal, which is about to be shuttered for the winter.
“I came to say farewell,” said Toni Cook of Edgartown. “She is the rock that held the place together.”
The reception attracted town leaders like Edgartown selectman Margaret Serpa and county commissioner Leon Braithwaite. It also attracted friends and family, some clutching cards, flowers, and a bottle of champagne for Tobin.
“Bridget, your smile & cheerfulness will be missed,” Tom Dresser wrote on a sign in the lobby that was overflowing with similar messages. “There will never be another. You are the Steamship. There’s only one Bridget.”
Dressed in a red overcoat, Tobin greeted well-wishers with smiles and hugs.
“I’m overwhelmed,” she told The Times about one hour into the three-hour event.
During a brief interview, the 44-year SSA employee said she always made it a point to care about the customer first. “I live here,” she said. “I care about their lives. I understood their problems.”
There were little things she could do to make sure people overwhelmed by life’s events — like the death of a loved one — got special attention. “I would make sure they got on first,” Tobin said.
It’s those little touches that were repeated time and again by those in attendance Tuesday morning.
Fred Murphy of West Tisbury said his kids and Tobin’s children grew up together.
“She’s a nice person,” Murphy said. “A wonderful person who you knew you could call in a bind.”
Dick Fligor of Edgartown said Tobin and her husband, Matt, have deep ties to the Island community. “They’re a power couple — outstanding people,” he said. “They’ve always been very generous and charitable.”