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Robert 'Smoke' Wetzel
Editor's Note: The following is part of a series of articles profiling The Inter-Mountain's staff.
ELKINS -- In his three years working at The Inter-Mountain, Robert "Smoke" Wetzel has experienced many things while delivering the commercial printing for the newspaper.
Wetzel was retired when he decided to apply and accept the job at the paper.
"I like my job because it gave me something else to do after I retired," he said. "And I get to see all kinds of wild animals while I'm making the deliveries. I've seen everything from ground hogs to squirrels, to deer and bear. You never know what you'll see day-to-day."
Wetzel's route has him on the road two days a week. On Tuesday he visits Sutton and Webster Springs, and on Wednesday he travels to Glenville.
"It's nice that it's only a couple days a week," said Wetzel. "The only bad thing about it is wintertime. You never know what you're going to get. So far I've only had trouble one time and that was trying to come out of Webster Springs when it was bad out."
Wetzel was a meat cutter at several different locations for more than 20 years before his retirement. Before that he worked for a railroad for four years and was in the Army National Guard for two years.
Wetzel's first job at the newspaper actually came when he was in junior high school as a newspaper delivery boy.
"I used to deliver the newspapers on a bicycle back in the early 1960s," he said. "My route started in the middle of town and ended up back over next to the old high school. When I was done I'd ride back clear over next to Third Ward where I lived."
Wetzel said he truly enjoys the way employees treat one another at The Inter-Mountain and how everyone is willing to step up and help out at any time.
"Everybody gets along with everybody at the paper, which is really nice," he said. "It was great when I had a total knee replacement operation and was off for two months, that Publisher Steve Herron filled in for me."
Wetzel has been married to his wife Judy for 35 years. He has two children, Mike and Keris.