End of the Line

He’d always thought he’d become a teacher.

Since high school, Roger Wolfe saw himself at a blackboard molding future Texas leaders and maybe even coaching them, too. He never saw himself climbing poles, hanging lines and keeping the power on whatever the weather.

However, the 60-year-old district foreman at Possum Kingdom Lake will hang up his gaffes for the last time in 2020 after dedicating more than 39 years to the cooperative. He was one of six other employees who retired this year and one of the top five  most tenured employees ever  to retire from the co-op.

“After all this time, what really sticks in my mind still today are the big, hard jobs where a lot of people were off due to tornadoes or storms—that sort of thing,” Wolfe said. “For me, being a minor part of that and getting people back on—that’s the thrill of  this job.”

Since 1980, Wolfe has called the area home, and according to other employees who have worked with him, he also has become the face of  United for the members he serves. In his tenure, he has worked for five different CEOs (or managers as they once were called), watched technology radically change the way electricity is delivered, trained countless others and started them on their careers, watched two electric co-ops consolidate into one and always kept the members’ best interests top of mind no matter what decision needed to be made.

“One thing that hasn’t changed regardless of the years is we were here for the member and to keep the lights on 39 years ago just as we are today,” he said. “We have been and still are all about the members and keeping them on and keeping them happy. Whatever that takes.”

After graduating, the Sweetwater native found work with an independent electrician in his hometown. The money, he said, was too good to turn down. His starting salary would be more than he’d make teaching in four years. It sounded like the right move to make, especially considering he was a newlywed with a new house he had purchased at 19 years old. And it was.

That is, until the company downsized. That left Wolfe with no job.
Already with some training in electrical work, Wolfe said he applied for a job at United (then Erath County Electric Cooperative). His brother-in-law encouraged him to do so, even though the company had strict rules about family members working together. However, he was willing to sell his house and move his young family to the Possum Kingdom area just for the opportunity to start as a groundman.

“At the time, a man named Castleberry was the manager,” Wolfe said. “I told him I’m selling my house to come here. I’m coming for this job. I’m not coming for my brother-in-law. I’ve been here ever since. The rest is history.”

Tom Robertson, a retired Stephenville district manager, said he remembered when Wolfe began his career. Even then, he said he was struck by Wolfe’s dedication in an area where finding employees who wanted to stay was difficult.

“He was an excellent hand,” Robertson said. “You could always count on Roger. He was always there. If the trucks couldn’t get in to fix something, you’d see Roger had taken off across the field to go fix the problem. It was a problem to find a hand to go to work at P.K. because they were on call every other weekend, and there wasn’t any backup if something went wrong. But he was always there. And his wife worked the telephones, because you didn’t have dispatch then. So, she worked many hours without getting paid.

“He’s trustworthy. He was there when you needed him, and still is. If I had to do it over again, I’d sure hire him. He’ll be missed.”

United Operations Manager Ed Nuñez  knew Wolfe before he started his co-op career as a meter reader in 1988. Nunez credited Wolfe with encouraging him to apply to the co-op.

“Roger is one of the most dedicated men that I’ve ever been around,” Nuñez said. “The thing about Roger is he won’t ask you to do anything he wouldn’t do or hasn’t done. He is a good friend and an incredible employee. I don’t have to worry about what takes place up there at Possum Kingdom, because I know he’s got it all under control. He’s a star at United who carries the flag wherever he goes.”

In particular, Nuñez said he remembered Wolfe’s leadership during restoration following the Possum Kingdom wildfires of 2011.

Wolfe’s intricate understanding of the territory’s layout, his knowledge and relationships he had with community members and his die-hard dedication all contributed to a quick restoration in light of devastation to the area.

“That territory up there is very different than any other service area we have, and Roger knows it like the back of his hand,” Nuñez said. “He knows everyone there, too. During the fires, he really led the charge on the management piece of that restoration, and there were multiple other co-ops assisting in that restoration. With that many people helping and the conditions that we faced, his views and the way he handled the safety aspect of the restoration made it such a success. Not just anybody could handle that.

“We’re losing a great man.”

Wolfe admits he finds the thought of retirement a little daunting, though he is looking forward to spending more time with his family.

“I’m kind of scared, because I’ve never done retirement before,” Wolfe said. “But I’m excited to be with family more. I’ve always worked, though, so I’m going to come up with something. I don’t know how well I’m going to do sitting around. You can only mow the lawn or go golfing so many times. But I’m going to be a grandchild chaser. That’s really why I’m retiring. I’m going to be the old grandpa in the stands whatever they’re in. It doesn’t matter.
“I do want to say thank you to the co-op. They bless us well. I’ve enjoyed the membership and fellow employees I have known through my tenure.”

Beyond Wolfe’s 39 years of answering members’ calls, another 117 years of experience and dedicated service is exiting the cooperative this year with the announced retirements of  Safety and Loss Control Director David Stone, 32 years; Rights-of-Way Coordinator Larry Rainwater, 25 years; Field Engineering Representative II Dan Nelson, 23 years; Field Engineering Representative I Ronnie Denning, 21 years; and Member Service Representative I Debbie Jones, 16 years.