allMACHIAS – If you live in Washington County, Marilyn Braley probably knows you.

Even if someone’s contact with the courts of Washington County in the last 30 years has been only as a juror, Braley has probably passed that name through her system.

Responsible for thousands of documents each year, she is the clerk of courts for the Washington County Superior Court and the Maine 4th District Court in Machias. Last month, she marked 30 years on the job.

The state merged the District Court and Superior Court clerks’ offices at the Washington County Courthouse in 2001 as part of a statewide program to combine such offices where possible.

That makes it all the more likely that Braley has encountered a majority share of all the cases and faces that come through the offices.

But those who appear at the front desk of the clerks’ office usually are showing up at less-than-peaceful times in their lives. Braley and her staff make efforts to recognize the sensitivity of the situations.

“We try our best,” Braley said in an interview earlier this week. “That’s how I hope we are: sensitive.”

Earlier this month, Braley was feted for her longevity. She thought she was meeting her family at the Bluebird Family Restaurant for a Valentine’s Day dinner. But that was a ruse, because a roomful of courthouse cohorts greeted her in surprise.

The guests included Superior Court Justice E. Allen Hunter, who divides his terms between the Aroostook and Washington county courtrooms, and Washington County’s presiding district judge, John Romei.

Two of the clerks in the Calais District Court, Karen Moraisey and Barb Nuttall, also attended, as did the three clerks who assist Braley in the Machias office. Those are Anne Hayward, Brenda Schors and Pam McPherson.

Rob Langner, who is the case management officer for Family Court, and Dennis Perry, the security officer for Superior Court, were also part of Braley’s evening of recognition.

Braley, whose family was also in on the secret, says she was taken aback.

She has little time these days to linger over anything, much less plan a party for an occasion.

“It’s not a secretarial job, and it certainly isn’t a routine job,” she said of the office’s work hours between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

“You might be at your work station one minute, then in the courtroom the next. You don’t know what you’re going to have for work each day.”

Every day involves meeting the public. Every piece of paper has to be tracked, filed, docketed or scheduled.

The four clerks’ work cubicles are crowded into a single room. A second room within the clerks’ domain serves as the front desk area. A third room is purely storage for matters from the past.

Braley’s own duties cover the office’s administration, plus civil, real estate, family and protective custody matters.

“I’m a working, hands-on clerk,” she said.

Hayward, who has been an associate clerk for nearly 24 years, handles Superior Court criminal matters.

Brenda Schors, an associate clerk for 12 years, oversees District Court criminal and juvenile cases, plus the violations bureau.

McPherson, an assistant clerk of five years, works with the Adult Drug Treatment Court, juries, small claims and forcible entries and detainers.

The women also pitch in to help with each other’s pieces of the puzzle when the work starts to seem overwhelming.

Braley makes sure that each clerk gets at least two hours daily of solid, phone-free time at her workstation. Each day they draw for what she calls “two-hour blocks” – or time when they can keep their heads down, focused on their desk work, while others answer the phone and handle the front desk.

It’s an idea she adapted six months ago from a state memo that suggested court clerks be given a full day absent of distractions to do their duties.

But the Machias courthouse is too busy for that plan to be effective, so two-hour blocks are more realistic.

“There’s no slacking here,” Braley said.

Braley came to Machias from Sangerville 32 years ago when her husband, Clifford Braley, joined the Machias Police Department and later, the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.

The couple’s two sons ended up in police work, too. Cliff Jr., 42, has been a police officer in Brunswick for 18 years. Troy, 39, recently finished 15 years with the Sanford Police Department.

Their daughter, Brigitte Beal, 36, of Addison owns the Family Farm Supply store along U.S. Route 1 in Columbia.

Now 62, Braley is a great-grandmother to six-month-old Dakota Colbeth of Roque Bluffs. But in spite of reaching retirement age, she has no plans – and no reason – to leave the job she loves.

“People say I don’t act my age and that I’m quite active,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve slowed down any. I’m still keeping up with the work.”