Highland County Court holds 90th birthday party for 30-year bailiff Paul Orr

Surrounded by family, friends and co-workers, Ohio's oldest court bailiff, Mr. Paul Orr, celebrated his 90th birthday Monday afternoon in Highland County Court/Madison Township.

County Court Judge Robert Judkins and Greenfield Police Chief Tim Hester presented a plaque and an Ohio House of Representatives' proclamation, respectively, to Mr. Orr.

In addition, former McClain Tigers varsity football coach Otis Wagner and Greenfield City Manager (and former clerk of courts) Ron Coffey shared stories of working with Mr. Orr, both in the court system and in local education.

Mr. Orr has served as a court bailiff for the past 30 years. He retired after 30 years of coaching and teaching and also served as superintendent of Fairfield Schools.

"Paul is a very special person," Judge Judkins said during the luncheon and reception, prepared by Betty Jackman and court staff.

"Thirty years ago, we needed someone of absolute integrity and character," the judge said, recalling the hiring of the then-new bailiff. "Today, Paul is the oldest active court bailiff in Ohio."

According to Judge Judkins, Mr. Orr has passed – by 20 years – the age limit for Ohio judges.

"I only wanted the job for about six months," Mr. Orr joked.

Mr. Orr thanked his family, friends and associates in law enforcement and the court system for the birthday party.

"I thank you all," he said, seated across from his wife of 65 years, Evelyn Orr. "This is a real pleasure. I hope you're here for my 100th! This is a family, and this has been a real blessing for me.

"I appreciate this more than you know," Mr. Orr told everyone in attendance. "I plan on being here another 10 years. We'll see. We've been blessed."

Referencing his 90 years, Mr. Orr stressed the importance of staying active.

"Stay active. Stay active physically. And stay active mentally," he said. "Be involved with people. As you get older, you have a tendency to isolate yourself sometimes. Being involved with other people is very important."

Coach Wagner shared a few stories about coaching the McClain Tigers football team where Mr. Orr was an assistant.

"Coach Orr and I go back to the mid-1950s," Wagner said. "When I came back (to Greenfield), I looked up the old coach to be on my staff."

After the regular seasons ended, the two coaches would often travel to watch other Ohio high school football teams that had advanced to the state playoffs.

"Our travel criteria was that there had to be a Perkins Restaurant nearby," Wagner said. "Many times, we would sit at Perkins, drinking coffee, talking football and diagramming plays on paper napkins until 4 or 5 in the morning."

Wagner also spoke of Coach Orr's "certain tenacity" and shared a particular story about how Coach Orr ended up in the referees' locker room following a highly contested game at Wilmington High School in the early 1980s during the Greg Nared era.

Apparently, Coach Orr hadn't really gotten lost on the way to the Tigers' locker room; rather, he had some insight he thought he might share with the officiating crew on that particular Friday night.

City Manager Ron Coffey then presented a birthday card and badge to Mr. Orr.

The badge reads: "At my age, I've survived just about everything."

The reception concluded with everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to Mr. Orr.