Rusty Dolan and his wife Maggie (nee McGoldrick) were high school sweethearts, but their love affair began back in elementary school, when Rusty walked Maggie to her home across town from him. When Rusty graduated high school and joined the Marines, Maggie took off for college at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she majored in environmental studies.
When he was discharged after his service in Iraq, Rusty returned to Woodson Falls where he was born and raised. Maggie was close to graduation and keenly concerned about the ecological well being of Woodson Lake. She, too, returned to the town in which she grew up, determined to get a position with the State’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Their love for each other was just as strong when they got together again after returning to Woodson Falls. They married and moved to the small farmhouse that had been in Rusty’s family for years. Maggie was in the early trimester of pregnancy when a skiing accident caused a miscarriage and landed her in a wheelchair. While she was able to secure a position at DEP that didn’t require her to physically examine sites, including the lake, Because Maggie was more or less tied to the farmhouse, Rusty transformed its spacers to address her mobility issues, enabling them to continue to live independently in the place they both loved.
Rusty always had been able to do pretty much anything involving repairs and restorations, perfecting his innate talents while trailing after his father and grandfather as they served the community as handymen. Rusty perfected his skills in carpentry and became much in demand as a master craftsman renovating older houses in Woodson Falls in addition to routine work as a handyman. Maggie was able to secure a position at DEP that didn’t require her to physically examine site, but that enabled her to continue to advocate for the health of Woodson Lake as well as other waterways and lakes throughout the state.