For the first time in 34 years, Chris Tuszke won’t have to be on alert for power outages when storms roll through the territory of Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative (CWEC) because Tuszke retired from CWEC the first week of September.
“I won’t miss the storms, being woken up in the middle of the night. That transition will go very well,” Tuszke said.
He may not miss the storms, but he said he will miss his fellow linemen at CWEC.
“You rely on the guys to watch out for you, you watch out for them,” Tuszke said. “You become very close knit. The comradery of the crews, the people at work. I will miss the social aspect of it, and our great members too.”
While Tuszke has been a lineman at CWEC for 34 years, he began working at CWEC 37 years ago, He worked at the co-op during the summer for three years prior to being hired as a lineman.
“An apprenticeship lineman position opened up here and they asked me if I would interview,” Tuszke said. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ They offered it to me, and I took it from there.”
Wanting to stay close to his family in Steven Point, becoming a lineman at CWEC was a blessing. Tuszke said he never thought he’d be with CWEC for 34 years as a lineman.
“I had no idea it was going to turn into what it did,” Tuszke said. “I always thought this might be a steppingstone to something else. I always wanted to keep doors open. But because the co-op was really good at giving me additional education, training, and certification, and so many things, it just branched out to so many things that worked really well.”
When he started his career as a lineman, Tuszke said it was important to him to stay safe and keep other linemen he worked with safe.
“My career would not be a success if somebody got hurt on my crew or if I was part of a major accident,” Tuszke said. “We must have did something right because nobody got hurt while I was working or anywhere around our crews. That’s what I’m most proud of, to walk away safe and be able to be fully intact to enjoy my retirement.”
During his time at CWEC, Tuszke said he had the opportunity to travel across the state of Wisconsin to help other cooperatives restore power. He also traveled to Florida to help restore power caused by hurricane damage.
Tuszke said being a lineman is a “very challenging, everchanging career. If you stay with it, that’s where the rewards come in.” Adding to that, Tuszke said being a lineman is not a career – it is a lifestyle.
“You become so routine into the lifestyle, looking forward to being with the guys everyday doing work,” Tuszke said. “Working with this equipment, power restoration, and meeting our members. We have great members. I just really enjoy every aspect of this field. To walk away and know that you’ll never do this again, it’s heartbreaking because you look forward to it every day.”
Even though Tuszke said it is tough to leave, he said he knows it is the right time to retire, as he isn’t getting any younger.
“This is my favorite time of the year, and I think I can take advantage of that. Instead of burning vacation, I can just be permanently hunting,” Tuszke said.
He said retirement will also allow him to spend more time with his wife and bird dog, as well as catch up on projects he hasn’t had time to complete. He plans to do plenty of hunting and fishing, as well as traveling.
“Be able to maintain a level of consistency and not roll out of bed when the storms roll in,” Tuszke said. “Enjoy the peace and quiet and get into the hobbies that I’ve so dearly missed that I do part time. Now I can do my hobbies fulltime. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”