Tom Costellic shook his head and sighed as he recalled his first day as Manor secretary-treasurer, the 2-square-mile borough's top municipal post.

It was in March 2000, two months after four new council members were sworn in. Sensing an uncertain political climate, his predecessor had quit in December.

"What a mess!" Mr. Costellic said. "The borough office had been vacant through February. Nobody was there to deal with residents. The mayor's wife was paying the borough's bills."

He thought, "What am I getting into?"

"I didn't have many options at the time," he admitted. "I was overqualified and working part-time jobs. Nobody was hiring 54-year-olds.

"My wife, Betsy, got laid off. We had no health insurance. I knew the Manor position was open, so I applied and got the job, with benefits.

"After I accepted, I went home. My phone rang. One of the council members said, 'Uh, Tom, there's a problem. We can't pay you what we offered. Will you take $25,000. We'll take care of you later.'

"I accepted."

Mr. Costellic, 65, is retiring after 10 1/2 years. His annual salary is $46,000, with benefits.

He was replaced -- duties-wise -- by former councilman Joe Lapia, 49, who today became the 120-year-old town's first municipal manager. His starting salary is $32,000.

Mr. Costellic will stay until his successor, a retired state trooper, is trained and the transition to a new governmental structure is complete.

During the past decade, things have changed dramatically for Manor. Mr. Costellic, a lifelong resident of the Harrison City section of Penn Township, restored the borough's fiscal stability and improved daily municipal operations.

His work as controller for Parker Hannifin Corp.'s Daedal Division, corporate staff accountant of Vulcan Inc., and secretary-treasurer of UMEC Corp. included internal auditing.

"My internal auditing experience certainly helped the borough to remain strong fiscally," he noted. "Council knows how every penny is spent."

Manor has experienced amazing residential development during his tenure. Its population has swelled to about 3,000.

Mr. Costellic is credited with being the "point man" who oversaw five developments going on almost simultaneously.

"I was in the office every day," he said. "I was the only game in town, the guy who dealt with contractors, listened to their complaints, just trying to keep projects running smoothly.

"I was juggling my time dealing with borough affairs, at times collecting taxes or fees, handling rental of our community room for meetings, weddings and other events [about 40 a year overall].

"It got worse when budget time rolled around."

The situation eased tremendously about a year ago when council hired Carla Fabac as a part-time office assistant.

Mr. Costellic has an interesting personal side.

He lettered in football, basketball and baseball at the former Penn Joint High School. The 1962 football squad was the WPIAL Class A runner-up.

He fell in love while car-pooling.

"A couple of us were attending Point Park College in Pittsburgh. So we car-pooled to save on gas money," Mr. Costellic said. "Betsy was going to Point Park. She joined our car pool.

"I'd seen her around, but I really got to know her on those long trips. We started dating. Next thing you know, we got married. It will be 39 years soon.

"I love to tell folks how I proposed," he said, chuckling. "It happened in the back room of Fatz Zackel's bar in Claridge.

"Fatz offered a Thursday night spaghetti special. Betsy and I ate there almost every week. One night, I took a ring out of a pocket and said, 'Here, this is for you.'

"She took the ring, looked at it, then at me, and asked, 'Is it real?'

"I nodded. She smiled, said 'OK,' and I put the ring on her finger."

Mr. Costellic recalls vividly the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968.

"I was in the Army National Guard," he said. "The day Dr. King was shot, riots broke out all over the country. My unit was mobilized and ordered to Pittsburgh to assist police in the event of riots.

"Guard units stayed in the Lower Hill District in the parking lots around [Mellon] Arena. It was scary seeing all those soldiers dressed in battle gear.

"We slept in the arena at night. We stayed a week. Imagine the conditions inside: unbearable. On our last day, they opened the roof to air out the place."

The Costellics have visited Yugoslavia, Italy and Greece and traveled around the United States. But their travel plans during retirement are on hold.

Benny, a 12-year-old chocolate Lab, demands constant attention. The family pet is diabetic. Mrs. Costellic, 63, administers insulin injections twice a day.

"Someday, we'll have plenty of time to catch up on traveling," Mr. Costellic said.

A steady stream of residents has been dropping by the office to say goodbye to Mr. Costellic, who delighted in helping them.

"I didn't expect that, really. It's an emotional time for me," he said. "It shows I was able to deal with people and earn their respect. I guess dealing with the people of Manor will be my legacy.

"I will never regret the time I spent working for this town. My achievement is being able to watch it grow instead of dying, like so many others have. Faith keeps these people going."

A self-proclaimed avid golfer, Mr. Costelic plays "often" at Westmoreland Country Club.

"I've been playing that course for 53 years," he said. "I love it. It's lots of fun."

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