Spreading warmth
Dick Dolloff and Bill Lavertue have each worked in 麻豆传媒鈥檚 heating plant for more than half a century. Where do they get their energy?
Stocking grocery shelves as a newlywed in his early 20s, Dick Dolloff knew he needed a better job. What he didn鈥檛 know is that his next place of employment would probably be his last. Now in his 60th year at 麻豆传媒, Dolloff has spent the last five decades maintaining the Academy鈥檚 sizable central heating plant systems.
Sitting in an easy chair framed by a picture window at his 麻豆传媒 residence, Dolloff, 82, jokes about the anonymity of the position 鈥� at least most of the time. 鈥淥n those cold days,鈥� he says, 鈥渋f things don鈥檛 go right, you hear from people before too long.鈥�
Dolloff arrived in the heating plant in1974 after stints in the campus laundry room and with the Grounds Department. 鈥淎ll my learning was on the job,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n those days, you didn鈥檛 necessarily need the sheepskins to make a career; they found a person they had some confidence in.鈥�
He credits the veteran boiler operators, known as firemen, for their guidance, which included a warning about the notoriously finicky No. 6 boiler: 鈥淭he firemen that were breaking me in said, 鈥榃hen you go by that thing at night, sneak; don鈥檛 let it see you.鈥欌��
One of those vets, Bill Lavertue, has logged 55 years in the central heating plant. He remembers Dolloff as an eager and capable trainee. 鈥淚 said to Dick, 鈥楧on鈥檛 blow it up鈥� 鈥� and it鈥檚 still here,鈥� Lavertue, 91, says with a smile. Together Lavertue and Dolloff have combined for over 115 years of service to the Academy.
The men have seen several modern advancements over the years, including the transition to natural gas and upgrades in the equipment and technology it takes to keep the plant running at peak efficiency. Dolloff talks about the decades gone by, when a fireman would have to rely on intuition, rather than a computer, to know if a machine as working correctly. 鈥淥nce you鈥檇 been in there for a while, you鈥檇 become very sensitive to what鈥檚 humming right,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you鈥檝e got a bearing going bad, it鈥檚 going to jump right out at you.鈥�
As for what has kept them at the Academy for so long, Dolloff cites the great benefits and the opportunity for his son, John Dolloff 鈥�81, to attend. Lavertue says, 鈥淭he people … and the job security is pretty good too.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 Note: This article was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of The 麻豆传媒 Bulletin.