One New Carlisle couple recently retired from careers that allowed them to serve the community through the local school system and city wastewater plant. Carol and Scott Strayer, married for 39 years, officially retired from their respective long-term positions last week, and while Carol plans to spend more time babysitting their grandchildren, Scott said he won’t stay officially retired for long.
“She wants to baby-sit our two grandkids…I’m going to have to get a part-time job somewhere,” Scott said of the couple’s plans for their retirement.
Scott’s family, friends, and co-workers held a party for him on Friday at Smith Park to celebrate their time spent working with him and to send him off into retirement. Scott began working for the City of New Carlisle in 1982 as a wastewater treatment plant operator, and retired from the same position last week, some 34 years later.
He said he wasn’t really sure he’d make such a longtime career out of the job back then, but noted that he found his duties to be “satisfying” and “incredibly varied.” Scott was able to perform numerous tasks in the New Carlisle facility, which he said he enjoyed much more than working in a larger plant, where he would have been confined to the same task every day.
“I’m grateful for the multi-faceted approach to the job, and for working for my hometown,” Strayer said. “And it’s a short drive to work,” he quipped.
He spent the latter part of last week going door-to-door in the city departments, saying goodbye to those he has worked with for the past three decades, as he noted that he’s going to miss his co-workers more than anything else.
“The crew is just good people, plain and simple,” he said. “There isn’t anybody I disliked.”
Scott said he was shocked by the kindness he was shown at his reception Friday afternoon, adding that it allowed him to connect with former co-workers and their families who he hadn’t seen in years. The family of Scott’s former “favorite boss,” Don Basham, paid him a visit at the party on Friday, which he said kindled some deep emotions, as Basham has passed away.
“We were supposed to retire together. When I see him again, I’m going to really tell him how upset I am about that,” Scott said wistfully of his old friend.
The wastewater plant’s crew enjoyed one another’s company so much that they continued their relationships outside of work, going for both bicycle and motorcycle rides occasionally.
Scott’s friend and co-worker Brent Knipfer has worked with Strayer all 34 years, and said: “I hate to see him go. We’re good friends—always have been…I was hoping I’d go before him!”
Carol Strayer also kicked off her retirement on Friday from the Tecumseh Local School District. She began as a substitute and Title One Aide and worked her way up to become one of three primary computer technicians, and ended up working 25 years in the Tecumseh District before her retirement last week.
Stacy Reynolds, Director of the Child Nutrition Department, considered Strayer to be an integral part of the Tecumseh team, saying:
“My experiences with her were always positive. She was very knowledgeable and I feel was an asset to the tech department and the district,” said Reynolds. “She will be missed.”
Scott said he has lived in the community all his life, and noted that Carol has been here since she was a young child, as her family moved north from Louisa, Kentucky so that her father could find better work.
While both Strayers listed spending time with their three children and two grandchildren as primary goals in their retirement, Scott said he’s already feeling compelled to find part-time work to keep himself occupied.
