The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1314049
B-2 Wednesday, December 2, 2020 The Press-Dispatch By Andy Heuring There is longevity and then there is longevity. Roger Ham has set a modern-day record for it at the County Highway Department. He worked his last day on Monday. Ham, who has been superintendent for the last several years, start- ed at the Pike County High- way Department on January 3, 1977. He officially retired as of November 30, 2020, 43 years and 11 months later. It is believed to be a record for longevity. Ham said Eldon Thomp- son hired him as a mechanic. Through the years, Ham has done nearly every job at the Highway Department. He be- came an operator and later be- came Cage Attendant. "Then Ed Kluemper called me and wanted me to be Lead- man," said Ham. The position of Leadman was literally made for Ham. It was a position created so he could remain in the union and function as the head su- pervisor of the Highway De- partment. "I have run the grader, backhoe, drove a truck, trac- tors and drags, paver and roll- er. I spent many a day on the back of the paver. We did a lot of miles," said Ham. He has even paved roads in the snow. One spring, in a par- ticularly hotly-contested pri- mary race, the paving crew was out on a cold day in April with it spitting snow. "I have worked with all of them. When I hired on, it was with a Democrat, and I worked for them when it went Repub- lican," said Ham. He went through several administra- tion changes as the County Commissioners changed po- litical persuasion. "He was an excellent guy, never had to be concerned about him. Never had to wor- ry about his work ethics at all. I thought a lot of him," said for- mer County Commissioner Roger Craig. "I remember I made the statement the Republicans treated us a lot better than the Democrats. That didn't win me any favors," said Ham. He said he really only had trouble with one commission- er. Ham said he came close to being fired. He was over- seeing the paving crew as they were paving streets in Winslow. They were working on the road to Sunset Ceme- tery away from any bathroom facilities. He left the area for a few minutes to use the bath- room. While he was gone, a commissioner and council- man had stopped by and saw he was gone. "They were al- ready on the phone calling other officeholders trying to fire me." Ham goes back so far with the Highway Department he said they used to have home- made snow plows. He said they used angle irons and bridge boards to form a makeshift plow that went on the back of the dump trucks. "They didn't have sand spreaders, so we would put a man in the back of the truck and drive to the intersections and shovel the sand out by hand." He said the county's paving machine he started on was a "driveway paver. It was only eight feet wide. Now we pave 18 feet in one pass." Ham's health was the fac- tor that made him decide af- ter nearly 44 years, it was time to call it quits. "I had a heart attack at home," he said. He had a stint and a triple bypass. "I thought it might be time to hang it up. I feel a lot better than I did. I got in pretty bad shape at the first of the year. I didn't know if I was going to make it," said Ham. He said he called the Social Security office and checked out his situation and decided it was time to retire. Ham has a partially re- stored 1950 Ford pickup truck he has been working on. "I pretty much have the exteri- or. I'm going to start working on the interior." He also said he bought a 1984 Corvette. "I'm going to restore it." He said he might do some camping, but he doesn't have big plans for his retirement. Highway Dept. Office Man- ager Melanie Britton said, "It's like a family around here." Assistant Superintendent Josh Byrd said he had worked with Ham for about 20 years. "He had been like a dad to me. We have been through thick and thin." "I'm going to miss all these guys out here. A fter 43 years and 11 months, it is like home away from home. Been around these guys for most of my life. It has been a lot of fun and we got a lot of work done," said Ham. County Highway Supt. retires after 44 years County Highway Superintendent Roger Ham retired on Monday after nearly 44 years' employment with the Department. CHICKEN NOODLE OR CHILI FRIDAY Roast Beef Manhattan $ 8.99 Roast Beef Smothered in Gravy on Mashed Potatoes and Bread with Green Beans or Corn and Drink * Parmesan Baked Tilapia $ 8.99 Baked Potato, Bread and Drink * Stromboli $ 8.99 Our Own Special Stromboli Served with Grippos (Plain or BBQ), Side Salad and a Drink * CHEESY CHICKEN BROCCOLI OR CHILI Chicken and Dumplings $ 8.99 Plate of Chicken and Dumplings, Green Beans or Buttered Peas and Carrots, Baked Apples, Roll and a Drink * WEDNESDAY Boneless Pork Chop $ 8.99 Tender Pork Loin Baked with Special Spices and Parmesan Cheese served with Baked Potato, Green Beans and a Drink * *Your Choice of Regular Co† ee, Tea or Coke Product. Specials and menu items are subject to food availability from suppliers. /RandysAmericanaCafe Like us on Facebook! 7TH & MAIN STREETS • PETERSBURG DEC. 2 - DEC. 8 MONDAY VEGETABLE BEEF OR CHILI Spaghetti $ 7.99 Cheesy Mozzarella Toast, Side Salad and Drink* Cheeseburger & Chili $ 8.99 Cheeseburger with a Cup of Chili, Chips and Drink* Pancakes $ 7.99 Choice of Side and Drink* CHILI Biscuits and Gravy $ 7.99 With Your Choice of Bacon or Sausage, Two Eggs and Drink* SATURDAY SPECIALS Stromboli $ 8.99 Our Own Special Stromboli Served with Grippos (Plain or BBQ), Side Salad and a Drink * daily Open for Dine-in & Carry-Out Time to Order Your holiday desserts Cinnamon Rolls Order by Thursday for Friday pickup Cheesecakes, Pies, Cakes and More One-week lead time THURSDAY CHEESY POTATO OR CHILI Ham Steak $ 8.99 Thick-Sliced Ham Served with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans or Buttered Peas and Carrots, Roll and a Drink * Meatloaf $ 8.99 Green Beans or Buttered Peas and Carrots, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Roll and Drink * free PERFECT PINT CLEAR TUMBLER with $20 purchase on Saturday PERFECT PINT CLEAR TUMBLER with $20 purchase on Saturday FRESH, MADE-FROM-SCRATCH CINNAMON ROLLS FRIDAY MORNING OR $ 8.99 OR CHILI 8.99 OR CHILI GIFT CARDS MAKE GREAT STOCKING STUFFERS! FRESH, MADE-FROM-SCRATCH CINNAMON ROLLS SATURDAY MORNING Biscuits and Gravy with $20 purchase on Saturday with $20 purchase on Saturday Biscuits and Gravy with $20 purchase on Saturday TUESDAY Turkey Manhattan $ 8.99 Turkey Breast Smothered in Gravy on Mashed Potatoes and Bread with Green Beans and Drink * Polish Sausage $ 8.99 with Sauerkraut Served with Cornbread, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, and Drink * HAM & BEANS WITH CORNBREAD OR CHILI Our delicious cinnamon rolls and desserts are a perfect addition to your holiday! CALL TODAY 812-354-2004 Mon-Fri 7AM-8PM Saturday 7AM-2PM 812-354-2004 a job at the paper and did too much sitting, and wasn't used to going home and doing a lot of exercise, and I packed on the weight pretty quick, by the time I made a decision to change, I was up to 310 pounds and a max of 316," said Gogel. He had tried several things on his way to 310 pounds. He walked, but wasn't very suc- cessful with it. "I wasn't watch- ing what I was eating." At one time, he had taken off 30 pounds, but then got busy. "I stopped exercising and it packed right back on." Once he decided to make a lifestyle change, he developed a plan. It included trying the Nutrisystem diet plan and an exercise plan. He said going with a diet plan like Nutrisys- tem helped because of the convenience of it. But the big change was he started keep- ing a food diary "of every cal- orie I consumed. . . You real- ize exactly how many calo- ries you are consuming on a daily basis." He said that was a wake up call. "If I'm sup- posed to have 2,000 calories a day and I'm consuming 3,600 a day, there is a problem. Eat- ing fast foods and eating out at restaurants, you are going to consume far more than your daily intake should be." "That is where Nutrisystem has helped. I was eating three big meals a day. I have split that to six smaller meals a day. "I'm never full, but I'm also never hungry." This schedule also helped him balance out his blood sugar. He also added walking to the plan. "I started walking just a little bit, but by midway through 2018, I was walking 5k at least two to five times a week," said Gogel. He no longer takes blood pressure medicine. "I'm still subscribing to Nu- trisystem. As a bachelor, it is a convenience thing for me. A person could go the grocery store and prep similar meals." Changing his habits was a big part of his success. "When I was big, I would go home and watch T V in the evenings and snack. I would go out for walk or exercise every once in a while. Now I try to work out between walk- ing or bicycling or just doing standard weightlifting. I try to work out about one hour a day." Gogel said there is a lot of advice out there, but it is im- portant to develop a plan that works for you. "A lot of people say work- out in the morning. If I work- out in the morning, I'm hun- gry all day long. For me, I try to workout at night about 90 minutes before bed. I take a shower and go to bed. It gives me something to do in times I craving snacks." He said another benefit of evening workout is "I work out with far more intensity in the evenings than in the morn- ing." When he started with the daily exercise, it wasn't easy. "It was a struggle, especial- ly on my knees. At that weight, my knees hurt just walking up a flight of steps. I started out with a few blocks and gradual- ly increased it through track- ing apps. I would continually challenge myself to go a little farther. I would take my dog, Mara, with me and she always wants to go a little farther." While it was hard to do at first, his success gave him mo- tivation. "It was almost within the first two weeks, I had dropped 20 pounds. By the end of the month, just getting salt and extra sugar out of my diet was a huge change. I lost all that water weight immediately. Then I steadily dropped about 10 pounds a month." He hit the milestone of 100 pounds lost in March of 2019. "It was pretty amazing to look back and say, 'Was I real- ly that big? ' It didn't feel like it. You look straight on in the mirror, you see yourself every- day. It isn't until you see pic- tures from before. For me, it was from vacation, I said 'okay now I see the change.'" "I have always felt good af- ter exercise from the endor- phins of exercising." But he said seeing success on the scale is a motivator. "Between the numbers on the scale and that feeling after exercise, it was a great motivator to con- tinue to lose weight." Gogel said another thing he learned on his journey was about cheat days. Most plans allow for "cheat days." "Every time I have a cheat day, it is very difficult to get back on track." He said the "you can't eat just one" principal takes over. His lifestyle change is feed- ing on itself. As he has gotten healthier and lighter, he is able to do more activities, such as long-distance bike rides. He did a 50 -mile organized ride in Hancock County last sum- mer. "I would never have even looked at a 50 -mile ride before I dropped the weight." Now riding similar distanc- es aren't a big deal for him. The realities of COVID have made life more difficult because there is more stress and more time of being sed- entary. Organized rides and other events that provide training motivation have all been cancelled. So he has put some weight back on, but he is still way ahead of where he was two years ago when he de- cided to make a change. Go- gel added that he is "working to get back down to where he was last summer again." DIET Continued from page 1 Eric Gogel weighed 316 lbs. in January 2018 while on vacation in San Diego. Gogel at home in January 2019 after losing more than 100 lbs.