Jerry Wright retires...again
By Carol Stender
cstender@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 02/11/2010 8:04 AM
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MORRIS, Minn. — Jerry Wright seems to have done things in twos over the past decade.
The West Central Research and Outreach Center irrigation engineer has been the center's interim head twice since 1999. And he's retired twice over the past year from two positions at the ROC.
Last week it was fitting that Wright's retirement celebration took place at the newly renovated WCROC building in Morris. His office was located at WCROC and, during his last stint as interim head, he was involved in the regular construction meetings for the major renovation project.
"That was a treat," he said. "I got to talk with fellow engineers about the construction phase and see the progress of the new building."
The building renovation is a different type of engineering project than the one that started his career in irrigation. In fact, the Stanley, N.D. farmboy's first engineering job was in Akron, Ohio designing tractor tires.
His wife, Sue, told friends, relatives and colleagues at the retirement party she knew Wright needed a change from the job. They'd moved him away from the agricultural side and into other tire projects. Wright was not happy, she said.
The couple moved near Wright's home in Western North Dakota where he worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in irrigation projects.
After several years they made another move in 1976 to Glenwood where Wright worked with farmers in the Brooten area to develop irrigation systems. He served a 10 county area that has become part of the West Central family, he said.
As a University of Minnesota extension engineer, he worked on the Sands Plain Research project in the mid-1990s near Staples. And in 1999 was named interim head of the WCROC when Gary Lemme left the post.
Greg Cuomo was named to the position in 2000, but, when he took a position as U-MORE Park head, Wright was again named interim head. what was to be a short term became a longer one when last month the U of M named WCROC swine research Lee Johnston as the center's director of operations.
Technically Wright is already retired. He left his extension outreach position in October, he said. And, due to the specifics of retirement, was gone three months before coming back to resume interim duties until Johnston took the helm.
In his role as interim head, Wright had many opportunities to talk to farmers and says he enjoyed the conversations.
The last 10 years he's become more involved with small growers and farmers' markets.
"It's a diverse group," he said. "I've enjoyed the conversations. They are people working to make a living for their families and their stories and production are interesting.'
Wright and his family have called Glenwood home from the time they moved to Minnesota in the mid 1970s, said WCROC dairy scientist Dennis Johnson. In his remarks to the group, Johnson estimates Wright traveled around 260,000 miles from Glenwood to Morris.
"It's a good thing he started at Akron because he continued to be a good customer of Goodyear," he said.
Wright isn't planning as many driving trips in retirement. He hopes to still work with irrigators associations and continue his connections with farmers which he says he enjoys.
He and wife, Sue, may take some trips abroad. Wright is a family history buff and has traveled once or twice to Norway. He'd like to make another trip there and possibly one to Germany.
"It's interesting going on those trips and, as you drive around the streets, you think this is where my great grandfather probably traveled," Wright said.
And then there are the grandkids.
"People at work always tease me that all I talk about is my grandkids," he said. "We will add one more to the clan and then I get to watch them age...That's one of the joys of grandkids. You don't have to discipline too much like you did with your own."