Little did Robert D. "Rob" Killday know when he began working on the construction crew of the Missouri Power & Light Company in 1927 that it would be the beginning of a family legacy of fourth generation linemen. Over an eighty year span, 17 Killday men (one brother, two nephews, four sons, six grandsons, three great grandsons, and Rob) have built careers within the electrical industry, totaling over 430 years of service with titles ranging anywhere from apprentice lineman to superintendent.
For several, Rob's leadership, guidance, teaching and assistance played an integral role in their career development. For all, his strength of character, strong work ethic, love and respect of family, especially his wife Esther, and God is the soul of what they stand for and a model for how they live their lives today.
"I knew what I was going to do early on. I was going to be a lineman just like my Dad," says Robert A. "Bob" Killday. "Dad took two weeks vacation and went with me to work for Evert Bringer, so he could train me. I learned more in those two weeks than most people do in two years. My desire from then on was not to be better than Dad, but just as good. I don't think I ever was."
Not only did Rob help train his sons and nephews, the respect he garnered from his peers over the years, allowed him the opportunity to help many family members break into the industry.
"My uncle Rob got me a job with L.E. Myers Company," says Pat Killday. "He also taught me how to climb poles and about line work. Being a lineman has been my life's work. I started in 1955 and retired from Ameren U.E. in 2006."
"I was working in Arizona early in my career and was back home in Missouri for Easter," says Terry Killday, son of Rob. "I asked Dad about working for Missouri Power & Light, they weren't hiring but he did know the Superintendent of a Generation and Transmission Co-op that was hiring. We went to the job site, talked for about five minutes, which was a long talk for Dad, and I went to work for them on the next Monday."
In 1939, Rob began working for the Missouri Power & Light Company, Moberly Division Central Power Highline Crew. According to Claude Hawkins, who also worked for Missouri Power & Light. The Central Power Highline Crew were considered to be the cream of the crop and anyone working on that crew had pretty extraordinary skills. The crew primarily worked high voltage and the tough jobs the district couldn't handle. Digging pole holes by hand, using wood hot sticks with no testers and climbing poles the hard way because they didn't have bucket trucks was all just in a day's work.
"I met Rob in the spring of 1954," says Hawkins. "I was working on a line crew out of Kirksville and he worked with us. Rob was the kind of guy you wanted called out in the storm to work with you. He was smart, talented and a very hard worker. He always had your back, picked up any slack and never complained."
"He was also the best pole jumper I have ever seen," says Hawkins. "He would take two quick steps, jump on the pole, climb up the pole and fix the insulator, just like it was nothing. It was actually pretty amazing, just like a bird on a wire."
After working twelve years with the Central Power Highline Crew, Rob transferred to Edina to work as a line serviceman and assistant to A.J. "Boob" Welch. He wanted to live with his family as opposed to commuting and just seeing them on weekends. With Rob's great people skills and lineman expertise he excelled as a line serviceman.
"Boob Welch would take Rob out and drop him off to walk the right-of-way. At times the weather was horrible, with snow, sleet, freezing rain, or just rain and mud. There were no walkie-talkies back then so he would have to come back and give report," says Fred Calhoun, fellow MPL employee. "When he came out of the right-of-ways and gave report, you knew what you had to fix. He knew his service area and you could count on what he said, he was always right on the money."
Calhoun further states that Rob was the kind of man that would pick up the slack for anyone and never complain.
There were times when a fellow worker couldn't get the job done, for whatever reason," says Calhoun. "Rob would just step in, do his job and help anyone else complete their job. He never missed a beat, complained, or said a bad word about anyone. He just got it done."
The whole community depended upon the line service worker. They read meters, ran services and took care of electrical outages, unless they were too big and had to call in a crew.
John Killday, grandson of Rob, comments that a fellow worker of Rob's, Kenny Tucker, stated if you wanted something done right the first time, Rob was the person to do it. No job was too tough to do.
"I have a lot of respect for Rob," said Claude Hawkins. "When the power went out, Rob rolled out of bed and was always one of the first to show up to get the job done. there just wasn't much he couldn't or wouldn't do."
"When Dad got a trouble call, the sub was out, a circuit was out or something was out of service, out the door he would go. Cold, snow, sleet or rain had no effect on the starting time the next morning," says Terry Killday, son. "Dad's work was more than just providing a service. He really cared about the people in his community. I don't know how many late bills Dad paid, rather than pull a meter, only he would know that. I can only say, I know he did it because that was just the kind of man he was."
Taking care of his customers came first and foremost for Rob. Dick Vaughn, a fellow coworker, comments that we were always glad to see Rob. He was a great help with their work; he provided advice and input. He just really knew what he was doing. Dick also shares a story that a fellow employee, Ralph Hamlan, told about Rob.
"We lost an insulator on a switch in the sub in Edina," says Hamlan. "They had to take an outage, it was wintertime and it was really cold and snowing. Rob, who was at least 15 years my senior said he would take care of it. He was up the pole, had it removed and installed a new one like he was about 20 years old. He had such grace and agility, he made it look so easy and believe me it wasn't easy. He was just a top notch lineman."
Rob was noted to be a quiet man but many times, that quiet spoke volumes. He led a good life. He was well respected, honest, conscientious, talented and hard working. He lead by example, and in doing so, his family learned the value and importance of how to love, how to live, how to put in a good day's work, and how to draw upon that inner strength to get the job done.
"I was working in Nebraska last winter during an ice storm," says Shannon Killday, grandson. "I was in the hotel room, without power or heat. I was cold and tired and about to call it quits for this type of work. It was then that I remembered that my uncles and grandpa probably had to deal with worse conditions than this and if they could tough it out, I could too. Growing up in a family of linemen helped me realize how important our work is and how important it is to work hard."
"My dad, Denny Killday, told me that Grandpa always said, 'Be the first one to get off the wagon and open the gate and don't ever worry about how many times you are the one doing it.' That really says a lot about the kind of man Grandpa was and I see that in my own Dad and uncles now."
"I remember Dad as a quiet, well respected gentleman," says Terry Killday, son. "When the phone rang, he went to work; when the church bell rang, he went to church; and when Mom called, he went home. He always opened the car door for Mom. He had a soft laugh and a gentle smile."
"Grandpa cared about his family, the people he served and the people he worked for. He was proud of his work and he was willing to make personal sacrifices to get the job done right and to make sure his customers had power," says James Killday. "I am the grandson of Robert D. Killday and I'm proud to be a third generation rural lineman."