Above: Neighbor Miram Harty gives flowers to Bill McClintick at a party Sunday (6/30) to celebrate his 105th birthday.

There are any number of things that retired U.S. Navy Commander Bill McClintick could have told me when I interviewed him about his life. After all, he was born on July 1, 1919, with a life spanning several wars, the first man in space, and the invention of the internet. Looking back over his remarkably long life, however, Bill was most interested in talking about the friends he had made in East Greenwich.

Bill has lived in East Greenwich since 1957, and was honored in 2020 with the Boston Post Cane, symbolically marking him as the town’s oldest resident. 

“Everybody knew everybody,” he said recalling the early years in town.

Of course, when he first arrived with his wife Audrey, they knew no one. McClintick said he was fortunate to meet established families in the area, such as the Eldredges and the Youngs, among others. His involvement at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church has also brought him closer to the community. 

In 1960, East Greenwich had a population of around 6,000. McClintick remembered how active the train station was, at 146 Duke Street, with tens of people getting on it daily to travel north to Providence and Boston. He talked of Scalloptown, the oceanside fishing community, Tar Tar’s grocery, the Hilltop Drive-In, and East Greenwich Dairy, time traveling through historic downtown. One of the biggest town events that he could recall was when Sam Snead, the famous American golfer, played at a nearby golf course. 

McClintick first came to Rhode Island with the Navy, which he joined in 1939 at age 20. He had a neighbor in his home city of Peoria, Illinois, who went to the Naval Academy and would often give him old magazines, reading material for teenaged McClintick. Eventually the neighbor went door to door recruiting for the Navy Reserves, and McClintick signed up. He then went to school in New York to become an officer and begin training. 

Throughout his career in the Navy, McClintick saw WWII battles such as Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, was “Q-cleared” for the development of the atomic bomb, and served at the Pentagon. He was commander of the USS Glennon out of Newport. The bridges over the bay had yet to be built, so there was little crossover between the west and east sides. He moved to East Greenwich after being stationed in Boston.

The Navy took McClintick all over the world, and after retiring he continued to enjoy traveling. He has been to a swath of countries including Myanmar, India, and Thailand, naming Bangkok as one of his favorite cities. He recalled fields of tulips in Amsterdam, a contest between Guernsey cows on the island off France, and traveling on the Nile River in Egypt. 

“I’ve probably taken more trips across the Atlantic than Rhode Islanders have to Boston,” McClintick said. 

Though he has seen the world, for the past 67 years McClintick has returned to East Greenwich as his home. He is called “The Mayor of Twin Pond Road” by his neighbors. According to his son, also named Bill, with whom he lives, the elder Bill insists on doing some yard work, and he still enjoys going to the beach on sunny days. 

Happy 105th birthday, Bill!

The clan McClintick: (Young) Bill and Bill Sr. in front. Behind, from left, Colin McClintick, Dawn McClintick, Rob McClintick. Kyle McClintick, and Gigi McClintick.