New Member of Selex
Has Mapped the Moon
By M. D. Drysdale

The more things change, the more they stay the same at Randolph selectboard meetings.

As they have most every meeting for a year, both Ken Goss and his wife Jeanne attended Tuesday evening's meeting. The only difference was that this time, Ken was on the other side of the table.

Running unopposed, Ken Goss, 68, was elected last week as Randolph's fifth board member, replacing Tom Schersten, who chose not to run again.

Until now, Ken was perhaps best known as the Santa Claus man, for a couple of reasons. First, he has volunteered to be Randolph's Santa. He had a headstart on that position because he didn't have to buy a white beard.

Ken and Jeanne also for the last three years have volunteered for one of Randolph's most thankless tasks—organizing the crews which hang the Christmas decorations in the downtown, and take them down later. It's a big job, and a cold one.

That's fine with Ken Goss. He retired here from Long Island, he said because "I like cold and snow—it's why we're here."

Living in Brookhaven, L.I, with a population of 1.5 million, he vacationed in Vermont, a different place every year. Having decided to retire here, he scoured the state for just the right place. He chose Randolph, he said, because of the presence of the hospital and the Chandler Center for the Arts, among other things.

He also liked that "just five minutes out of town and you're in the woods." That's where he and Jeanne live, in fact, in a log cabin on Fish Hill about five minutes out of town.

Unusual Career

Goss brings an unusual set of talents to town. In Long Island, he formed a company in 1971 that did aerial photography for precision mapping. The company had two planes "in the air most of the time" and occupied its own building, with a staff of up to 17.

Goss himself was one of the photographers and helpled map several states, including taking "6300 photos over Vermont" in 1974.

He also worked with NASA's Lunar Lander project, helping to map the moon before the Lander made its voyage. The 3D model he created helped the astronauts visualize what they would find when they landed.

Goss noted he learned aerial photography while in the service from 1956 to 60. He also does on-the-ground photography. He's displayed his work at a show at the hospital, and another is scheduled at the Tunbridge library.

So why have Ken and Jeanne been such regulars at Randolph Town Meeteing?

"I wanted to find out what made the town tick," he responded. He found government here very different from the impenetrable maze of government in Brookhaven.

"It has been just fascinating, and I was struck by how nice it is as a government—people actually had a say."

As a selectman, he hopes to continue that tradition. And he knows that out in the audience with her knitting, Jeanne will make sure he does.