That monkey was going to have to come down, one way or another.
John McMillin told the story with a gleam in his eye. For 31 years, the Franklin resident worked as a lineman for Duke Energy, known at the time as Public Service Indiana. He got called out on thousands and thousands of calls to repair downed lined, broken transformers and other electrical issues.
But the one call he’ll never forget involved a monkey that was loose in Greenwood.
“I got a call for no lights,” he said. “A monkey had gotten up in the transformer, and he was hanging up on the pole. I had to get him off there.”
McMillin recounted the unusual encounter sitting around the breakfast table with a group of longtime Duke Energy lineworkers. All retired now, the group gathers every month at Flap Jacks Pancake House in Bargersville, telling old stories, catching up on their current conditions and sharing in the camaraderie that only lineworkers can forge.
At age 98, McMillin is their elder statesman — the oldest living Duke Energy linesman in the state.
“It’s really great that they have the camaraderie to get together every month, and you can tell just by looking around the table that they enjoy each other,” said Stan Pinegar, Duke Energy state president. “The camaraderie of our employees, and particularly our linemen, is really impressive. These folks are different because they have to react to things most people don’t have to think about.”
Over plates of biscuits and gravy, eggs and hash browns, the group chatted and laughed with each other on an early July Thursday. They teased one another, throwing joking insults around the table with a warmth that only comes with years of friendship.
“We get together and tell the same stories over and over, then the other ones have to check it out, see where they changed it,” said Bob Sanders with a laugh.
For the former Duke Energy employees, the monthly breakfasts are a way to stay connected.
“The camaraderie is still there. I just enjoy seeing everyone, and see how everyone is ‘progressing’ in age,” said Rene Olibo, a retired lineman who meets with the group.
At the center, McMillin remembered his time on the job. Of course, he told the monkey story from 1971 — how the dispatcher wouldn’t quite tell him what the job was about, how the monkey’s owner wanted him to go up in a bucket truck to get the animal, and how he refused, instead using an extension stick to hook its collar.
The monkey was safely returned to its owner, McMillin said.
Another time, he had to use a hollow pipe and loop of wire to lasso an opossum from under a transformer.
There were middle-of-the-night calls after storms, and long slogs repairing downed lines to return power to people. Part of the job requirements meant they had to live within a few miles of Franklin, to be able to quickly respond to calls.
Before cell phones, beepers and around-the-clock communication, he had to use his intuition and simply wait by the phone.
“I didn’t think anything of it — I just got up and went,” he said. “If I didn’t get the call, I’d call them.”
McMillin came to Public Service Indiana in the mid-1950s. He had served with the U.S. Navy during World War II, working as a gunner on the USS West Virginia.
After his service was over, he worked at Arvin in Franklin for years, but grew frustrated as labor disputes within the company led to a round of layoffs.
“I got tired of it. So then I saw Public Service had an ad in the paper, and I went down and filled that ad,” he said.
The job was a good one for McMillin, as he mastered the art of climbing poles to do repairs and memorized electrical systems. He worked for Public Service Indiana until his retirement in 1987. But even after he left the job, he would get together with co-workers and other retired linemen. They had formerly gathered for breakfast at Tom’s Pancake House, and when it closed, they moved to Flap Jacks.
“They’re like family,” McMillin said. “When I went to work for the company, the Franklin division was just like a family. Everybody worked together and got along good.”
His fellow retirees feel the same way.
“We love just getting together with guys we were with for almost 40 years, working with them every day,” said Meechie Van Cleave, another former lineman.
McMillin plans to keep coming to the breakfasts every month as long as he can. Even at age 98, he still drives himself from his Franklin home to the restaurant to see his friends.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” he said.
