SPRINGFIELD – Springfield Utility Board was established in 1950, making Sept. 5 the public utilities’ 75th anniversary. To celebrate, the Springfield History Museum collaborated with SUB for its newest exhibit, “PosSUBilities: 75 Years of the Springfield Utility Board.”
Some folks around town have shared their memories of the early days of their time working at the board.
Ray Meduna and Bart McKee both worked for SUB in its early years back in the 1970s. Meduna started in 1973, and McKee in 1979. Meduna’s father was actually one of the original members hired, leading to a lifetime of utility work for the father and son.
Meduna’s career started as a janitor and ended with him as the electric and water director before retiring in 2024. In this role, he would supervise folks in both the electrical and water divisions.
“I don’t want to say the word ‘easy,’ but when you have good employees underneath you, they take the stress off you,” Meduna said. “You’re really not managing people too much; you’re more managing projects and stuff through them. It was enjoyed. I learned a lot that I never knew.”
Some of Meduna’s past duties for the water division included working on storage tanks and pumping stations, working with water rights, water transmission lines, and pipe replacement. For the electric side, he would build transmission lines, powerlines, and substations.
Because of his father’s work, Meduna knew SUB’s first general manager, Frank Brown. He talked about SUB’s first office with a small staff of crew members.
“The crew members met in a little cubby hole,” he said. “There was a very small office, probably 15 feet across and maybe 100 feet deep, that’s where the crews met. They had one service truck, and an old line truck. You had to set poles by hand,” said Meduna.
McKee also shared his memories of working with SUB in its early years.
“I think it was the perfect job, at least for me,” McKee said.
Retiree McKee used to work in the water division, and his job involved designing and approving designs of about 30% of the water systems in Springfield, he said. He spent the last couple of years as the planning engineer, creating 10, 20, and 50 year plans, before retiring in 2020.
“A lot of what they’re doing today was things that I planned 10 or 15 years ago,” he said.
He also mentioned his work at the old Sony Disc Manufacturing building, before it became PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.
“I spent 65 days out in the field with 13,000 feet of water lying around for the Sony plant, and had it all designed. And of course, the first day, when I started digging the trench, everything changed,” McKee said. “So, I spent 65 days redesigning and modifying on the hood of a pickup, trying to keep three crews busy out there.”
With the role of an engineer, McKee had a lot of responsibility, but he enjoyed it.
“It was fun. It was what I was born to do,” McKee said. “It just fit my skill set perfectly. I got to be what I wanted to be when I grew up,” he said.
As the digital age progressed, technological advancements were implemented in SUB’s divisions. Meduna mentioned the transition to using Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and how automated mapping has helped in the water division.
According to Meduna, automatic systems measure the levels of water in storage tanks, fill them when they need to be filled, and relay how much water is being used at the filtration plant.
The Springfield History Museum, at 590 Main St., currently has an exhibit on display showcasing more stories, artifacts, and photos from SUB’s 75 years of service, until Dec. 27.
