Long-serving registrar signs final certificate

His name is on every birth and death certificate issued since 1975.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- When the Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records was moved from Harrisburg to New Castle 33 years ago, Charles Hardester was tapped to became state registrar.
Friday marked his last day on the job before retirement, ending the reign of the longest serving state registrar in the country.
Hardester, 59, says he's enjoyed the work that has allowed him to meet a wide variety of people and travel to different states, and even countries, to verify the validity of Pennsylvania birth and death records.
"I couldn't have done it without my staff. They have been the key to my success," Hardester said.
Hardester donned a white T-shirt provided by his employees, stating "Charlie" on the front and "Retired" on the back, for his last afternoon on the job.
In a farewell celebration, the female employees donned "Charlie's Angels" shirts and the men "Charlie's Devil's" shirts in honor of his retirement.
"He's been the best," said Janice Tummavichakul, administrative assistant who oversees local registrars. "I had one of the first bicentennial babies in 1976, and he came up with a special birth certificate for that year."
What he did
As state registrar, Hardester oversees satellite offices in all of Pennsylvania's major cities and 245 local registrars in rural areas who collect birth and death records.
When Hardester started in 1975, the office had been moved to New Castle through the efforts of former state Rep. Tom Fee. He said the governor at that time had a plan to decentralize state offices from Harrisburg. Hardester said New Castle was chosen because it had a high rate of unemployment.
When the office opened, it had 144 employees. Today, because of computerization, the office now employs 76.
Hardester said he's always emphasized customer service to the office staff, who serve about 100 people a day. He said he's even come in weekends to accommodate those traveling through to pick up birth or death records.
As state registrar, his name has appeared on every birth and death certificate issued in the state since 1975.
That's about 15 million birth certificates and 12 million death certificates and an additional 30 million reissued death certificates, according to office records.
The business end of tragedy
Hardester said he's proud that his office efficiently handled the needs of families after two most recent airline tragedies -- the 1994 crash of a U.S. Air plane in Beaver County and the Flight 93 crash in Shanksville, Pa., on Sept. 11, 2001. He said his office was able to generate death certificates for all affected within a month of each crash, allowing families to pursue benefits in a timely fashion.
Hardester said he's also been instrumental in setting up security guidelines for record-keeping and retrieval that are being considered nationwide. He said one of his office's main concerns is preventing identity theft.
"Birth certificates are breeder documents," he said, explaining they can be used to get other forms of identification and steal a person's identity.
Hardester received a host of commendations from Gov. Ed Rendell on down for his years of service and retirement.
He said he plans to spend his retirement traveling with his wife, Patricia, and learning to play golf. He also intends to do some consulting work for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as well as private companies.
The couple has three children, Lindsay, Nicole and J.R.
Frank Yeropoli, who has served as assistant director of the office since it opened in New Castle, takes over as state registrar on Monday.
"He has been an excellent manager. He was very forward-thinking and innovative," Yeropoli said of his predecessor.
cioffi@vindy.com