"I officially retire on Saturday," said the 65-year-old woman. "There’s a lot that I want to do."

Rathbun, a lifelong Cooperstown resident and graduate of the Cooperstown school district, began working for Church and Scott Jan. 27, 1967 as a retail clerk and has held the same job her entire career.

She said the first thing she’ll be doing once she leaves her longtime job will be heading to Georgia to spend the winter with her daughter and family. Rathbun said she has a great-granddaughter down there and numerous grandchildren she’d like to get to know better.

She’ll also likely spend time this spring and summer watching grandson Chuck James, who broke into the Major Leagues this year as a pitcher with the Atlanta Braves. James had a successful rookie campaign with the Braves, going 11-4 with a 3.78 ERA during 25 games including 18 starts.

In her unusually long tenure _ by modern standards at least _ with the same employer, Rathbun witnessed significant changes in the world, in Cooperstown and at her job.

Cooperstown was a much different place when she started, Rathbun said, especially Main Street.

"Back when I started, you could buy everything in Cooperstown," she said. "There were so many different stores, but now it’s all baseball. You really enjoyed shopping in Cooperstown."

Main Street also changed when Church and Scott left its longtime home on the corner of Main and Pioneer, although it only moved a few miles away to its current location on Chestnut Street.

While the move was a significant change, Rathbun pointed to the modernization of how business is done when asked about how her job changed over the years. She said the use of computers and other electronics have made things somewhat easier.

She said she got the job when she was 25 and went into the pharmacy looking to see if they had any openings. Pharmacist Bill Adsit Sr. hired her and she’s been with the pharmacy since.

"Best hire my dad ever made," said pharmacist Bill Adsit Jr., who _ along with brother Dave Adsit _ took over ownership of the pharmacy from his father Bill Adsit Sr. "We’ll miss her."

Bill Adsit Jr. said he’s worked with Rathbun for 34 years and that it will take time for some of the pharmacy’s customers to adjust after she retires. He said Rathbun always took the time to talk to customers and became friends with many of them.

Becky McManus, who has worked at the pharmacy for four years, said Rathbun is extremely helpful and knows where everything is located in the store and what many customers need before they ask.

"She knows everybody," McManus said.

Rathbun said it has been the people she’s met and the people she’s worked with over the years that made it such a great job and one she enjoyed tremendously.

"I’m going to miss the people," she said. "I love the people. They come in now and say You can’t leave, we come in and you know what they want.’ The people have been great."