By Alex Paul
Linn County Communications Officer
When John Hefty reports to work each morning at the Linn County Parks operations office in Waterloo, he never knows what’s on tap for the day.
And that’s how he likes it.
“My wife will ask me what’s up for the day and I tell her I have no idea,” Hefty said with a laugh. “It can be a little bit of everything and that keeps it very interesting.”
Hefty, 58, has worked for the Parks Department since 1996, but admits retirement isn’t far off.
Born in Wisconsin, but reared primarily in Alaska, Hefty gravitated to working with his hands at a young age.
“I was surrounded by working people,” Hefty said. “My dad was a heavy diesel mechanic and we had family members who did a little bit of everything. I guess I’m mostly a fabricator. I like to weld and make stuff.”
In fact, over the years Hefty’s ability to melt steel has resulted in construction of many parks gates and dozens of fire rings.
“We figured out one time that I could build fire rings for about half the price of buying them,” Hefty said.
Hefty brought many varied work skills to his Linn County job.
He graduated from high school in Alaska and spent a few years working in the Prudhoe Bay area, tackling everything from road maintenance and septic systems to equipment maintenance.
When the economy got soft in Alaska, he moved to Arizona but didn’t like the hot weather and then California where he worked in the construction industry.
When his father, David, moved to California, they started a repair shop near a car lot and that’s where John met his future wife, Sally, who was friends with the car lot owner.
Friends with Mike McQueen from Sweet Home, Hefty visited the area over the 4th of July and fell in love with its beauty.
“I could hunt and fish without all of the snow in Alaska,” he said.
He purchased a home on 54th Street in Sweet Home even before he and Sally married, and they still live there.
They reared their two children, Joe and Christa there. The family now includes grandchildren Henry and Jamie, who live in Lebanon.
He worked for McQueen until the slump in the timber industry and also worked for Burt Hotchkiss, who owned a private golf course near Holley.
Hefty worked at the pellet mill near Brownsville for a few years and after his wife took a job with Linn County at the Lewis Creek entry booth, he learned about the Parks Staff opening.
“It’s changed, but it’s still pretty much the same type of work,” Hefty said. “When I started, there was a finish carpenter and equipment operator in addition to me.”
Hefty said he has worked for four operations supervisors and three parks directors.
“What hasn’t changed, no matter what, is how much pride everyone takes in our jobs and in our parks and it shows,” Hefty said. “People appreciate the quality and they keep coming back year-after-year.”
Hefty said he is eyeing retirement, possibly next year, but he still enjoys coming to work.
“I’m probably going to buy a motor home and Sally and I are going to do a little traveling for a while,” Hefty said. “Then, we’ve got plenty to do around our place and maybe I’ll pick up a little work here and there.”