A Thank You to All of the Road Crew Workers Helping Keep Us Safe This Winter...

And the Iowa Writers' Collaborative Party tonight has been postponed due to winter weather...

Marion County, Iowa Maintainer/Road Grader in action in 2016.

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When I worked in radio, I felt that some of my best interviews were with people who do very important, even dangerous, jobs that the public takes for granted. On a few occasions, I went out with snowplow and maintainer drivers to interview them and educate the public about their work. It was always interesting and fun. The following story can be found in my 2019 book Deep Midwest; Midwestern Explorations, published by fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member Steve Semken’s Ice Cube Press. Check out Steve’s Substack and the rest of his offerings at Ice Cube Press for your holiday shopping. Read widely, read local, and please support our local presses and bookstores.

I wrote the following after listening to road crew chatter on the scanner during a snowy day years ago.

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Maintainers

The snow hit us just about right, six inches at the most, but hard to measure since the 50 mph winds had the National Weather Service calling it a blizzard, which sounds right to me, bringing us some drifts a few feet deep here and there and other places leaving nothing but bare earth, but timed perfectly for a white Christmas. And a white Christmas is rarer than one might think, about one in seven years, they say. And as always, the county road crews started with plows on the hard surface roads at four AM, allowing time for the wind to slow and the snow to finally lay down with the dawn, building some drifts that looked like lapping waves, and others like big fat dragon tongues. The maintainers, or what some call road graders, came out at seven to work the rock roads. And as always, the guys got to see things other people don’t get to, like red foxes, and turkeys tracking deer, grazing where the deer’s hooves break through the snow.

The day started warm, then cooled, so when the snow came Mike, the foreman, told me the rock roads were soft underneath the snow, making working the blades troublesome. The guys on the maintainers wanting to clear the snow off the rock roads for safety’s sake, but not wanting to wreck very much of the 680 miles of road in the county by blading too deep into the muck. Rock roads can be delicate, believe it or not, Mike said, and one has to leave a proper crown and a good surface, while trying not to knock any mailboxes down.

And the guys went at a new snow again on Christmas Eve, working hard up to dusk to make sure that everyone could get home safe, that drifts were cleared, and that there were two lanes on every rock road in the county. Over the radio I could hear the guys talking more than usual, excited for Christmas coming it sounded like, and pleased that because of their hard work everyone could get to where they needed. To get done by dusk, guys who were finished with their routes in the south moved north to help where we got the worst of it, but not as bad as Des Moines--to say nothing of Ames.

The digital thermometer at the shop said 18 degrees and dropping, and right before dusk Mike told everyone it was time to “head to the barn, the roads were as good as we’re going to get ‘em,” and for “everyone to have a Merry Christmas.” For some reason as the guys came in and parked and checked their equipment, when done most hung around, not heading home, the camaraderie of the special day and general friendships they had held them in place, waiting till the last guy got in safe.

As they milled about the shop, one voice called out on the radio. “Sorry boys, I’ve got the hammer down, but I’m way out and she doesn’t have much more in her.”

“Don’t worry,” someone replied, “We’ll leave the light on for ya, Elmer.”

Written in appreciation of my friends, Marion County Engineer Tyler Christian, retired Marion County Engineers Abie Davis, and Roger Schletzbaum, as well as Tom Wadle, Steve McCombs, Mike McMurray, and every other guy in the Marion County Secondary Road Department who work so hard to keep our roads safe in every kind of weather. Oh, and Rick and Denny? Keep my seat warm, will you?

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Here’s a message from Julie Gammack about the cancellation of the party tonight:

Tonight’s holiday party for paid subscribers is canceled.

A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for much of central Iowa, including Polk and Warren counties, from 4:00 PM CST today until noon CST Saturday. Mixed precipitation is expected, with total ice accumulations up to two-tenths of an inch and snow and sleet accumulations up to one inch. Roads, especially bridges and overpasses, may become slick and hazardous. Winds from the east-southeast at 10-20 mph could break tree limbs or cause power outages.

We count on every one of you to be safe and sound. Stay warm.

This event will be postponed until Spring.

You understand this was a tough call, but it’s the right decision.

Julie

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Subscribe! Become a paid subscriber if you can afford it. Please and thank you. We need you. Thanks for being part of the team! Want to buy me lunch or a cup of coffee? Venmo @Robert-Leonard-238. My friend Spencer Dirks and I have a podcast titled the Iowa Revolution. Check it out! We can get ornery. And have fun! I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.