As a young and curious child, Ladon Lowery would ask his dad, a janitor in the LG&E maintenance department, to let him tag along when he went to work on the weekends. He’d spend that glorious time not only seeing firsthand what his dad did at work, but also exploring the offices and getting an “inside look” at what went on there. For an eight-year-old, it was a dream come true.
Now a team leader in LG&E and KU’s Line Construction and Maintenance department at East Operations Center, Lowery laughs while reflecting on those childhood adventures -- in advance of his milestone employment anniversary with the company. “I learned a lot and saw a lot as a kid, and I had fun,” he said, “but I didn’t know then that I was destined to come work here for 50 years.”
A decade or so later, it was his dad’s connections at LG&E that helped him land his first position in Underground Construction as a summer temp. When the summer ended, Lowery was asked to stay on.
What Lowery remembers most about his first few weeks and months on the job isn’t the work itself -- it’s the people who guided him and made sure he knew how to stay safe on the job.
Ladon Lowery’s employee ID from 1976.
“I was like a toddler,” he joked. “They had to watch my every move and make sure I wasn’t going to get hurt. They were serious about safety, and they all really took me under their wings. They were watchful and kept me from getting hurt. That was special to me.”
That first job in Underground Construction -- working with a crew on manhole and duct systems -- led to the next, pulling cable. After that, he learned to splice cable. He particularly loved being outside in his job; it’s one of the things that kept him interested.
In 1984, Lowery was invited to participate in a new management program called the Productivity Improvement Program. That opportunity led him into supervisory roles and into his current position as team lead. “My days now are very busy. There are full days, many long ones,” he said. “In the mornings and afternoons, I’m at my desk, but I still get to be outside for part of the day.”
In the trenches
Of course, being outside isn’t always the best part of the job. Lowery recalls two particularly momentous storms that led to less-than-ideal working conditions: an ice and snowstorm in the ‘70s and another in 1994 that took out power to much of the state.
“We worked long schedules with very little rest for almost two weeks after those storms,” remembered Lowery. “Temperatures were often below zero, there was deep snow, and we were away from our families for weeks at a time.”
The magnitude of those events sticks with him still today. Those long days and nights spent working to restore service to everyone made him consider what his own father -- who had served in the military before joining LG&E -- and other members of the armed forces have gone through.
“I wasn’t in the service,” he said, “so that’s about as close to it as I think I ever got. It’s a job where you just keep going because someone has got to do it.”
All in the family
When Lowery began with LG&E, he was still a teenager; imagining where he’d be in 50 years was the furthest thing from his mind. At the time, though, he did know he wanted a job that would offer him the stability and security to care for a family, which eventually grew to include his wife and their three children. He had, of course, seen how the company had supported his own family through his father’s 30-year tenure.
Ladon Lowery celebrates his 50th service anniversary
Turns out, Lowery got more than stability.
After 50 years with LG&E and KU, it’s the people who remain most dear to him. Supervisors who have taught him much of what he knows today, colleagues who kept him safe in the early days and became friends, and people he worked side by side with each day who traded stories about life at home -- they are the memories he’ll take into retirement.
“My job has been really good to me,” he said. “It allowed me to take care of my family, but there were also people I worked with who became family. People who treated each other like family, treated people like they themselves wanted to be treated. It’s important that we don’t forget that human element.”
Lowery’s May 31 retirement date is fast approaching, though he notes that nothing has slowed down at work while he waits for that last day on the job. But by June, his primary focus will be on spending time with his wife, working together in their garden and on other landscape projects at their home; after all, he’s always loved to be outdoors. He’ll also find more time to work on small engines, another favorite hobby.
As a grandfather, Lowery knows, too, that retirement will give him more time to enjoy watching his grandkids on their own adventures -- all while reflecting on his own childhood explorations checking out the LG&E offices. Just maybe the things his grandchildren are exploring might be a hint to the sort of career they’ll land in. After all, that worked out well for him.
