July 1974 saw some fairly hot days, but averaged out at 82 degrees with only a quarter inch of rain all month.
It was a little different from the heat and periodic deluges of rain or flooding this year that have had county road crews working to keep gravel on the roads.
But Allan Ahrens has probably seen all kinds of road conditions over the years.
Ahrens joined the Seward County Highway Department in 1974, driving a road grader and maintainer. He has been up and down more miles of roads than anyone has calculated, especially in the Staplehurst area where he is based, and where he still raises livestock and farms.
The Seward County Commissioners and Highway Superintendent Jon Regnier offered a brief celebration of Ahrens’ dedication to the job July 9 with a plaque noting his 50 years of service.
A couple dozen of Ahren’s Highway Department colleagues marched into the commissioners meeting, filling the audience area with neon yellow and gray t-shirts and plenty of smiles to congratulate him as Seward County Commission Chair Misty Ahmic presented the plaque.
Ahrens, who is concise with his words, said he has lived in the Staplehurst area all but a couple years of his life. He lived in York County for a few years.
He likely knows every inch of the roads he maintains, though he says he is “still be working on that.”
“I know what needs to be done, I try to anyway,” he said.
Highway Superintendent Jon Regnier said it is rare for people to stay with one employer for 50 years these days. The next closest in seniority in the Highway Department are two people with 35 years of service.
