This past April 11 was extra special. Not only was it a nationally recognized day set aside to celebrate the dedication and commitment of our brave lineworkers, but this year, PEC senior line technician Gaylon Summers made a service call he won’t soon forget.
As the local area line technician assigned to the Wynnewood area for the past 11 years, Summers made a rare stop to deliver birthday wishes to member Linda Bagnall on her 99th birthday. Last month, Bagnall reached out to express her gratitude and appreciation to PEC after reading about Lineworker Appreciation Day in the April edition of the People’s Powerline.
PEC’s afternoon receptionist, Betty Miller, spoke with Bagnall and learned that she would be celebrating her 99th birthday on Lineworker Appreciation Day set for April 11. Born on April 11, 1923, Bagnall explained she started electric with PEC “when we were in the country.” She said she “got married, moved away and moved back and started electric back with PEC on August 15, 1975.”
On Lineworker Appreciation Day, Bagnall’s area lineman, Gaylon Summers, surprised her with a bouquet of flowers, a special basket filled with goodies, a birthday card signed by all the PEC employees, and a birthday cake. She was all smiles. Bagnall reflected on her life growing up in rural Oklahoma in the very home where she resides today. When she was around the age of 20 (which would have been in the 1940s), she recalls, “One time it had rained and rained and rained and rained and the creeks and banks were full, and you couldn’t see nothing but water. My electricity went off. Everybody’s did about that time, and the man from the electricity company was out looking to fix it. He had to go across this water – this creek. I told them, ‘oh, don’t send him out there! We’ll do without electricity. Don’t send him out there! It’s water everywhere.’ They said, ‘he’s on horseback.’ That man rode the horse way back wherever he had to go to fix our electricity.”
PEC is thankful for loyal members like Ms. Bagnall and appreciates that she called to express her own appreciation. It made our Lineworker Appreciation Day even more special to extend the kindness back to her and to celebrate one of our longest served members in good standing.