Gary Smith's coworkers cooked him up a mess of eggs and bacon Friday morning - a fine breakfast for a fine worker.
After 38 years with Callaway County's road/bridge department, Smith, 78, is giving up his road-grading responsibilities.
"It got to where I didn't know nobody and I figured I'd better up and go," he said. "They figured I had been here 38 years. I ran (a grader) for 10 years for the road district, so I figure 48 years."
Smith's nearly seen it all. He was shot twice. He recounted one event: "He thought I was tearing up his property, putting in heavy lines," he said of the property dweller. The man shot out the windows in Smith's skidder, and a bullet grazed him, too.
"I got a good bee sting in there," he said, laughing.
Smith was born and raised in Williamsburg.
"We lived on an old farm and butchered hogs and raised navy beans," he said. "We lived really good, I thought."
Getting to school was a chore, as there was no bus service, so sometimes he'd stay with family members in town. Then a big yellow school bus appeared.
"The last year, I rode 114 miles a day to get to school," Smith said.
He started life behind the wheel early.
"The first paying job I had was driving a dump truck," he said. "I was 11 years old when my dad stuck me in an old junker truck."
When the river was frozen, Smith went to school. When the river ran high, Smith also went to school. But when the river was low, he drove that truck - homemade, but it had a motor - for his dad.
Then his father died.
"Dad died two months after high school," he said. "Junior Smith took me out and put me on a push Cat (scraper) fresh out of high school."
One of Smith's important accomplishments, he said, was helping build Interstate 70, the first interstate in the nation. In Missouri, the 2,151-mile highway traces the path of U.S. 40, the old National Road.
"It was a two-lane highway," Smith said. "There was many a stop sign between St. Louis and Williamsburg."
If he hadn't worked Missouri's roads, Smith said, he might have wanted to work on a train or operate a truck over the road. He had a truck once, but he lost it in a broken-up relationship.
Smith said his job was everything to him - and he never married. "I fooled with a couple, but it never worked out," he said.
Smith lives in a two-story, 1912 house on 10 acres with three tom cats. He doesn't know what he will do as a retired gentleman.
"That's going to hurt me bad, retirement," Smith admitted. "I've got some mowing to do. We'll see."
Smith isn't the only war horse lost recently by Callaway County's road and bridge department. Three others retired last June.
One was Jerry Powers, who also was a road grader operator. He worked for Callaway County for 32 years, he said.
"There was excitement every day," Powers said. "Meeting new people every day. I've never had an inside job before."
Also retiring were Frankie Renner, with a 40-year career with the county, and Terry O'Neal, who worked there 29 years.
"That's lots of experience going out the door," county engineer Paul Winkelmann said.
Powers said Smith was just a dependable guy.
"He was always there; he'd always stay late when we were pushing snow," he said. "He was dedicated. Gary, he's going to be missed around here."
County Commissioner Randy Kleindienst also reflected on the collected 139 years of experience of these now-retired employees.
"We've lost a lot of experienced help recently, with a huge knowledge of the road system and the people in this community," he said. "Gary put in 38 years at Callaway County that we really appreciate. It's hard to replace someone with 38 years of experience. He'll be missed."