Lineman Jerry Cunningham retires
Jerry Cunningham began work at Ripley Power and Light Company more than 35 years ago. His first job was operating the chipper that grinds up tree limbs and other vegetation.
Cunningham retired as a lineman April 30.
A buddy told him about the job opening at Power and Light, he said. He interviewed and started work within days. He went to lineman’s school and worked through an apprenticeship to become a lineman.
His hardest workdays came after the 1994 ice storm and 1997 tornado when he and other employees “worked a lot of hours and missed a lot of sleep” to restore power. “The destruction was pretty bad,” he recalled.
Cunningham’s family moved to Ripley from Alabama when he was 6 years old. He has one son, Aaron Cunningham, and a stepson, Steven Hardee. He and his wife, Dot, also have two granddaughters, who are 2 and 15 years old.
Retirement will give him time for his hobby—working on small engines in his backyard shed—and for camping with his wife and their grandchildren.
Though he is looking forward to not having to be at work every day at 7:30 a.m. or rotate being on call, he will miss his job—and particularly his coworkers.
“I’ve got some good buddies,” he said. “I will miss the guys I work with.”