MONROE - Monroe's Jerry Ellefson has dedicated his life to hard work. First on the farm, then in the Army and finally spending more than four decades as a city employee working to clear the waterways and help keep the wastewater treatment plant safe and usable for everyone. He's also finally taking time to enjoy life and family.
Ellefson was born and raised just west of Monroe in Green County, with three brothers and five sisters. At age 70, he said he is the baby of the family. The 160-acre family farm is where he learned to milk by hand and farmed with horses at that time. His father had a big shredder and threshing machine and they worked all of their own corn and oats - even threshing and shredding for neighbors.
Helping each other was one of the biggest life lessons on the farm.
Ellefson learned quickly the value of a dollar, early mornings and labor. He would spend winters helping cut wood and picking up walnuts and hickory nuts to crack to help his mother with the cooking. He recalls her canning more than 3,000 quarts each year to prepare the food supply. They even butchered and smoked all of their own meat.
He said although much time was spent working, there was a nice group of neighbor kids who enjoyed ball games, tug-of-war and tractor pulls periodically in the field to see whether "red" or "green" would win the coveted title.
Weekends were sometimes spent on Monroe's Square getting groceries while his father hauled in feed to grind.
He attended Hiawatha School until eighth grade and then Monroe High School. He called himself an average student, who didn't get involved much since he was expected to be at home helping.
After graduation in 1965, Ellefson received his draft notice, and shipped off with the Army to Fort Leonardwood, Missouri. He became a sergeant in the Third Armored Division and was part of the 143rd signal corps. He provided operations communication systems for the division, and he moved with them so he never stayed in one place very long. He served a wide area of Germany and was in the field 75 percent of the time, he said. Ellefson said he made good friends and was content with his job.
"It was very good for a young guy right off the farm," Ellefson said, noting that he had extensive training and lots of responsibility. "I adapted well, and it was a great growing up and learning experience."
When his tour was up after two years, Ellefson said he seriously considered staying, but part of him also wanted to get home. Before he did, however, he and an Army friend took a trip through Holland, Denmark, Switzerland and other points in Europe. He won't ever forget the trip where he said they met amazing people and saw so much.
Back on the farm, Ellefson took some night-shift odd jobs but was looking for something else. In 1968, a job opening at the City of Monroe's Wastewater Treatment Plant came up, and he landed the position.
He started in the labor department and then worked his way up to the lab and mechanics - eventually working in all phases of the plant operations. In 1971 the other person working at the city left, and Ellefson was selected as the superintendent of the plant. He began courses through California State University, Sacramento State, the Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin to get the education he needed to keep up with the job.
He passed four levels of the Wisconsin DNR exams to get his wastewater operators license and was then certified to manage the treatment plants and complete the paperwork and testing needed.
When he began the job, Monroe's WWTP was severely outdated and overloaded, with odors engulfing the west side of Monroe and bypassing Honey Creek. In 1972 under a new Federal Clean Water Act, the city was required to update to a secondary treatment - and did so with the guidance of an engineering firm's projected growth of Monroe.
However, that update was short-lived because no one foresaw the boom that came. Monroe was in the midst of healthy economic growth, with cheese factories and the brewery expanding and other businesses landing in town - although it was great for Monroe, the newer plant was once again overloaded in just a few years.
It was Ellefson's problem as much as anyone's, and he took it upon himself to start the rigorous process to try and fix it. All of the underground work needed to be replaced, and city council meetings were full of unhappy people whose basements were backing up every time it rained because of the overload.
In 1976 the city transferred the sanitary sewers and lift station to Ellefson's department - now they were his responsibility, too. And he was receiving pressure from farmers, residents and the DNR to get things up to compliance. Hundreds of brick manholes, pick hole lids and underground piping all had to be replaced and made into a sealed system.
Ellefson led the way.
"A lot of Monroe's sewer system dated back to the 1930s so it was a continuous, ongoing project," he said.
In the last few years before his retirement, he even took on energy and water conservation issues - performing a smoke and dye testing system to find all leaking joints and eliminating lots of problems around the city. He found businesses and homes that were illegally draining into the sanitary sewer system and illegal sump pumps - a process that took several years. Every home in Monroe was checked.
By the time he retired in 2009, there were no more reported backups in homes. It was a big accomplishment for Ellefson.
"It was a tremendous challenge and a major health issue," he said.
Another big accomplishment as a city employee was Ellefson's role in helping all of the expenses for the WWTP be fairly shared between taxpayers and businesses. The industries in town needed to pay more for the share they were using, and although he wasn't the most popular person when that happened, he said it was the right thing to do. He also got the city to agree to turn the WWTP into a utility, so it was no longer supported by tax dollars and instead, supported itself and paid for itself.
"I really enjoyed my work," Ellefson said. "I fought a lot of battles but I had a good working relationship with the industries, the DNR and the city. I had a great staff I worked with too."
Retirement wasn't easy for a guy like Ellefson, who spent so much time at work, fixing problems and paying attention to the weather and everything that was happening at the WWTP for 41 years.
"I was at the plant seven days a week," he said. "The plant was basically my life."
But, he said, it was his time after more than four decades - and he said he went out feeling a tremendous accomplishment was complete, and he left behind a great staff and working relationships for the next generation.
Today, Ellefson finds ways to keep busy, taking on construction projects on the side for people - to ease into retirement, he laughs. He is also focused on his own home now, something he didn't keep up with while working so much.
A few years ago Ellefson was asked to serve on the Monroe Housing Authority board and now serves as president, caring for the Churchill Woods Apartments.
He also enjoys spending time with his wife Ella and their two sons, Mike and Scott, and their families.
For several years Ellefson was behind the Honey Creek cleanup - bringing in the Scouts and volunteers to help clean 5 miles of streams and waterways in Monroe, and sometimes filling three dump trucks. He said he feels badly that that project hasn't kept going.
He and Ella were heavily involved in Cub and Boy Scouts and still help out when they can. Mostly, the couple enjoys taking out their Harley Davidson trike with friends around the area who also enjoy riding. They take trips to several areas, such as Arizona, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Yellowstone was the most recent. There are several other couples they ride with to enjoy weekend summertime weather and good food.
"We just have a wonderful time enjoying it together," he said.
Ellefson was born and raised just west of Monroe in Green County, with three brothers and five sisters. At age 70, he said he is the baby of the family. The 160-acre family farm is where he learned to milk by hand and farmed with horses at that time. His father had a big shredder and threshing machine and they worked all of their own corn and oats - even threshing and shredding for neighbors.
Helping each other was one of the biggest life lessons on the farm.
Ellefson learned quickly the value of a dollar, early mornings and labor. He would spend winters helping cut wood and picking up walnuts and hickory nuts to crack to help his mother with the cooking. He recalls her canning more than 3,000 quarts each year to prepare the food supply. They even butchered and smoked all of their own meat.
He said although much time was spent working, there was a nice group of neighbor kids who enjoyed ball games, tug-of-war and tractor pulls periodically in the field to see whether "red" or "green" would win the coveted title.
Weekends were sometimes spent on Monroe's Square getting groceries while his father hauled in feed to grind.
He attended Hiawatha School until eighth grade and then Monroe High School. He called himself an average student, who didn't get involved much since he was expected to be at home helping.
After graduation in 1965, Ellefson received his draft notice, and shipped off with the Army to Fort Leonardwood, Missouri. He became a sergeant in the Third Armored Division and was part of the 143rd signal corps. He provided operations communication systems for the division, and he moved with them so he never stayed in one place very long. He served a wide area of Germany and was in the field 75 percent of the time, he said. Ellefson said he made good friends and was content with his job.
"It was very good for a young guy right off the farm," Ellefson said, noting that he had extensive training and lots of responsibility. "I adapted well, and it was a great growing up and learning experience."
When his tour was up after two years, Ellefson said he seriously considered staying, but part of him also wanted to get home. Before he did, however, he and an Army friend took a trip through Holland, Denmark, Switzerland and other points in Europe. He won't ever forget the trip where he said they met amazing people and saw so much.
Back on the farm, Ellefson took some night-shift odd jobs but was looking for something else. In 1968, a job opening at the City of Monroe's Wastewater Treatment Plant came up, and he landed the position.
He started in the labor department and then worked his way up to the lab and mechanics - eventually working in all phases of the plant operations. In 1971 the other person working at the city left, and Ellefson was selected as the superintendent of the plant. He began courses through California State University, Sacramento State, the Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin to get the education he needed to keep up with the job.
He passed four levels of the Wisconsin DNR exams to get his wastewater operators license and was then certified to manage the treatment plants and complete the paperwork and testing needed.
When he began the job, Monroe's WWTP was severely outdated and overloaded, with odors engulfing the west side of Monroe and bypassing Honey Creek. In 1972 under a new Federal Clean Water Act, the city was required to update to a secondary treatment - and did so with the guidance of an engineering firm's projected growth of Monroe.
However, that update was short-lived because no one foresaw the boom that came. Monroe was in the midst of healthy economic growth, with cheese factories and the brewery expanding and other businesses landing in town - although it was great for Monroe, the newer plant was once again overloaded in just a few years.
It was Ellefson's problem as much as anyone's, and he took it upon himself to start the rigorous process to try and fix it. All of the underground work needed to be replaced, and city council meetings were full of unhappy people whose basements were backing up every time it rained because of the overload.
In 1976 the city transferred the sanitary sewers and lift station to Ellefson's department - now they were his responsibility, too. And he was receiving pressure from farmers, residents and the DNR to get things up to compliance. Hundreds of brick manholes, pick hole lids and underground piping all had to be replaced and made into a sealed system.
Ellefson led the way.
"A lot of Monroe's sewer system dated back to the 1930s so it was a continuous, ongoing project," he said.
In the last few years before his retirement, he even took on energy and water conservation issues - performing a smoke and dye testing system to find all leaking joints and eliminating lots of problems around the city. He found businesses and homes that were illegally draining into the sanitary sewer system and illegal sump pumps - a process that took several years. Every home in Monroe was checked.
By the time he retired in 2009, there were no more reported backups in homes. It was a big accomplishment for Ellefson.
"It was a tremendous challenge and a major health issue," he said.
Another big accomplishment as a city employee was Ellefson's role in helping all of the expenses for the WWTP be fairly shared between taxpayers and businesses. The industries in town needed to pay more for the share they were using, and although he wasn't the most popular person when that happened, he said it was the right thing to do. He also got the city to agree to turn the WWTP into a utility, so it was no longer supported by tax dollars and instead, supported itself and paid for itself.
"I really enjoyed my work," Ellefson said. "I fought a lot of battles but I had a good working relationship with the industries, the DNR and the city. I had a great staff I worked with too."
Retirement wasn't easy for a guy like Ellefson, who spent so much time at work, fixing problems and paying attention to the weather and everything that was happening at the WWTP for 41 years.
"I was at the plant seven days a week," he said. "The plant was basically my life."
But, he said, it was his time after more than four decades - and he said he went out feeling a tremendous accomplishment was complete, and he left behind a great staff and working relationships for the next generation.
Today, Ellefson finds ways to keep busy, taking on construction projects on the side for people - to ease into retirement, he laughs. He is also focused on his own home now, something he didn't keep up with while working so much.
A few years ago Ellefson was asked to serve on the Monroe Housing Authority board and now serves as president, caring for the Churchill Woods Apartments.
He also enjoys spending time with his wife Ella and their two sons, Mike and Scott, and their families.
For several years Ellefson was behind the Honey Creek cleanup - bringing in the Scouts and volunteers to help clean 5 miles of streams and waterways in Monroe, and sometimes filling three dump trucks. He said he feels badly that that project hasn't kept going.
He and Ella were heavily involved in Cub and Boy Scouts and still help out when they can. Mostly, the couple enjoys taking out their Harley Davidson trike with friends around the area who also enjoy riding. They take trips to several areas, such as Arizona, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Yellowstone was the most recent. There are several other couples they ride with to enjoy weekend summertime weather and good food.
"We just have a wonderful time enjoying it together," he said.