South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad Engineers Retire After 30-Plus Years Engineers Mike Allen and Bruce Huerter recently retired after long careers at the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL). They started their careers at the SKOL shortly after Watco began operations in 1987. Allen joined the team in 1988, and Huerter followed in 1992. The team hosted two retirement parties to celebrate both of their individual accomplishments. It’s here that both retirees received a commemorative rifle as a retirement gift. It’s a tradition for the SKOL to present this type of gift to team members celebrating a significant anniversary or retirement. A hunter, Allen received a Henry Big Boy .45-caliber rifle. Huerter was given a railroad commemorative Henry rifle that he plans to mount over his fireplace. “We are going to miss Mike and Bruce,” said SKOL Assistant General Manager Greg Ferguson. “They know the railroad like the back of their hands. I could always count on them to get the job done.” SKOL Trainmaster Dustin Coester agrees. He said, “You can’t replace them. They know the answer to any railroad question.”
8 The Dispatch | July 2022
