Maintenance Technician Wraps Up Long Career

Steve Lowther has always done the hard, hands-on work where a guy doesn’t mind getting dirty and getting results. But after 48 years, the Watco maintenance technician is leaving behind all that industrial grime for retirement.

Lowther first went to work in 1978, between his junior and senior years of high school, at a Western Kentucky coal mine. When the mine closed in 1983, he had the opportunity to move to a new, river-based bulk-terminal operation in Grand Rivers, which he helped build. “I started as an operator, doing lots of dirt work” he said. “When you’re doing that, you’re naturally excited about what it’s going to be when it gets done, how the terminal will run and everything.”

For Lowther, it was a time of learning an entirely new industry. “When I started at the terminal, I knew nothing about barges or trains; I had to learn all that,” he said. The terminal was acquired by Watco in 2016 and a few years later turned its focus to coal car maintenance. That meant acquiring more new skills. “We had no idea the things we didn’t know about a railcar. We’d been dumping them for years and didn’t know what we didn’t know” about keeping them in working order.

Lowther said that in a career spent around a wide range of machinery and tools, what helped him stay safe was the habit of being observant. “That way things don’t really get routine; that’s when people get hurt.”

Operations Manager Melissa Faughn has worked with Lowther since her first day on the job 19 years ago. “Each of us has worked with him since our first day,” she noted. “I’m thankful that he’s stayed around as long as he has. As the senior member of the Grand Rivers team, Steve has been a leader, mentor, and friend to all of us. He will be greatly missed!”

March 20 was Lowther’s last day, and while he’s walking away from all kinds of grit, his world won’t exactly be spick and span. He’s got a 10-acre farm, with 6 acres to mow and a big garden to tend. And he has big plans to watch grandsons ages 10 and 13 stirring up some dust on the baseball diamond.

Lowther says he’ll also enjoy more time with his wife. And that includes one important matter after 48 winters worked mostly outdoors: “Stay in the house and stay warm. I’m tired of being cold.”