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Show Page Four He's seen many changes in 36 year career at U i , .... i ,-. . S : A lot has happened since General Services Superintendent Fred C. Sudbury joined a maintenance main-tenance crew at the University 36 years ago. Four University presidents have served, the alfalfa field east of the Park Circle has sprouted buildings, and Fred Sudbury has earned the title of "senior employee." em-ployee." "The University's the only employer I've had," he says. "It's like a second home to me. I can't think of a better place to work in the entire state as far as environment and contacts with a wide variety of people." When he mentions variety, Mr. Sudbury speaks from experience. His first job in 1935 was with roof maintenance, but his real love was working directly with people, and his job advances show it. From roofer, he went to foreman, to project coordinator, to supervisor, to office manager, to superintendent. "My positions have given me the opportunity for a continuous round of new friends," he says. "When I started at the Physical Plant, there were between 40 and 50 employes. Now there are over 400. Things are more businesslike, but still friendly." Maintenance problems have increased, too, from 12 to more than 200 buildings' worth. But troubleshooting is part of Mr. Sudbury's job-he supervises preventive maintenance, a new program geared to eliminate emergency calls by systematic maintenance procedures. Mr. Sudbury says his great satisfactions .have .come through association with other employes, and he is proud that two of his former assistants now direct other departments. One of his most exciting memories is his brief after-tours after-tours career as a flagpole climber which began when the rope on the Park Circle flagpole broke. On a boast, Mr. Sudbury volunteered to repair .t. Using only a wire wrapped around the pole and h s foot, he inched up to the top with the new rope looped through his coverall strap. "The job was easy," he recalls 25 years later, "except for an embarrassing moment at the top, when I almost dropped the new line." Word of his flagpole prowess spread quickly, and he received calls to repeat the feat all over the valley. "My last job was at Coalville, rethreading the Army flagpole. It was too narrow at the top to support me, so my wife stood on the other side, holding a cable to keep the pole straight. After that close call, she persuaded me to end my sideline." Commenting on the campus, Mr. Sudbury says, "It's nice to see the planning going into it. Recent landscaping has helped make the University the best-looking campus I've seen." Would he do it all over again? "You bet-I'm looking forward to another 36 years with the University," he remarked. General Services Superintendent Fred C. Sudbury has worked t,i University for 36 years. He now supervises 400 errj |