When Neal Cass bought the small town Hancock Cash Market after graduating with a business administration degree from the University of New Hampshire, he was forced to learn how to fill in as the cashier and butcher.

He also learned how to deal with people as a captive audience behind the counter. That skill will come in handy as Cass, 43, takes the reins as Hopkinton's new town administrator, he said.

The market in Hancock is still a central place to pick up news about the town, much like Hopkinton's Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on Main Street.

"I learned what you should say and what you shouldn't say," he said. "I also learned how to disagree with people while maintaining a respectful relationship."

Growing up in Hancock and speaking to people as they came through the store helped Cass get elected to two terms as a selectman. After six years on the board, Hancock hired him as their town manager, his first foray into the field.

"I converted my hobby into a profession," he said.

In June 2003, Cass took a similar job in Lyndeborough. It was there he faced one of the greatest challenges of his career.

Cass served as the right-hand man for the board of selectmen in Lyndeborough when their former police chief, James Basinas, said he was investigating one of the board members for theft. Amid accusations of dishonesty by the police chief, Lyndeborough became embroiled in a years-long employment dispute that is still weaving its way through the court system.

Cass is scheduled to testify in the case next month.

"It certainly taught me a lot about the legal system and how it works, or how it appears to not work," Cass said. "If nothing else, it showed that you have to do your homework prior to hiring people."

Sitting in his office this week in the town hall, Cass said he hopes to bring some stability to a post that has seen a number of different people through the years. The most recent town administrator, Leon Kenison, left to take a job as the director of public works in Nashua.

Cass was one of the finalists last year when Kenison was hired. So far, he has been spending time touring the town's roads and buildings.

"I would say I'm even more excited this week than I was last week," he said. "It just seems like a good town to be in."