Seventy-five years later…
Still praising engineers
Louie Hagerman was a fresh-faced high school graduate from Bessemer, Ala., when he applied at TVA in September 1933.
“They liked my lettering,” he says proudly about his meticulous handwriting. “That made my application stand out.”
At 93, TVA retiree Louie Hagerman is one of the few remaining “original” 1933 employees. He retired from TVA in 1974 after a total of 33 years of service. He lives in Knoxville with his wife Elsie.
He was hired at a salary of $70 month. It was the Depression. Hagerman’s family had been sharecroppers and cotton farmers. “TVA had given people new hope,” he says.
His first job was delivering mail in LaFollette, Tenn., for the Maps & Surveys office. When Maps & Surveys was transferred to Chattanooga, his boss kept Hagerman in design engineering in Knoxville. Hagerman soon became a draftsman, making the most of his high school drafting classes and a lifelong love of math.
Design engineering was a dynamic department, he says. Engineering talent was critical for TVA: these were its formative years and the new agency had much to accomplish.
“TVA had top-flight engineers that got it off to a great start,” Hagerman says. He eventually became a senior engineer, and his work influenced the construction of several steam plants. “My most exciting project was the Paradise plant,” he says. On Kentucky’s Green River, Paradise began operation in 1963. It’s one of TVA’s largest coal-fired plants, generating enough power to supply almost a million homes a year.
At 93, Hagerman still connects with TVA friends. Once a quarter, he and about 20 other TVA retirees get together to reminisce and enjoy fellowship.
Most important TVA memory: “It’s a dedicated bunch of people. That’s what I liked most about TVA.”
New Retirees
46 years
James W. Price, Fossil Power Group, Gallatin
38 years
Kim R. Patterson, Human Resources, Knoxville
37 years
Jimmy L. Jones, FPG, Rogersville
35 years
Daniel G. Calhoun Jr., Power System Operations, Chattanooga
Dennis E. McCloud, Office of Environment & Research, Chattanooga
Billy W. Mefford, FPG, Drakesboro
Joseph Valente, Nuclear Power Group, Spring City
34 years
Richard E. Colquitt Jr., River Operations, Chattanooga
Joseph T. Deckman, RO, Chattanooga
Eddie L. Herring, Procurement, Muscle Shoals
Charles Stanley Holt, PSO, Decatur
William K. Kassinger, FPG, Drakesboro
Brenda S. Payne, Procurement, Chattanooga
33 years
Wanda T. Coleman, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Nellie S. Dawson, Financial Services, Muscle Shoals
Ross A. Malone, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Gregory D. Poe, NPG, Spring City
Ronald L. Springer, FPG, Chattanooga
32 years
Elizabeth L. Donaldson, HR, Knoxville
H. Keith Fogleman, Labor Relations, Chattanooga
David L. Harrell, FPG, Kingston
Debra A. Layne, Information Services, Chattanooga
Mildred P. Lett, Procurement, Rogersville
Richard V. Owens, Procurement, Nashville
Gerry D. Stiers, IS, Chattanooga
31 years
Rodney L. Beasley, FPG, Drakesboro
Randy E. Martin, FPG, New Johnsonville
Delmar C. Morelock, FINSVS, Rogersville
30 years
Janice C. Beard, IS, Chattanooga
J. Hunt Cooper, Central Support & Repair, Chattanooga
Linda L. Ellis, RO, Watts Bar Dam
Ruby L. Ezell, Procurement, Rogersville
Ira M. Heatherly, NPG, Chattanooga
Samuel R. Johnson, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Dennis W. Linkins, OE&R, Chattanooga
Jan Canaday Pflueger, FINSVS, Muscle Shoals
Bill Don Smith Jr., NPG, Spring City
William H. Underwood, NPG, Knoxville
29 years
Billy R. Courtney, FPG, Drakesboro
Samuel R. Johnson, NPG, Sequoyah
Rebecca T. Lockaby, Procurement, Chattanooga
Jerry W. Owen, OE&R, Muscle Shoals
Beverly J. Poinson, OE&R, Chattanooga
Anne C. Walker, OE&R, Knoxville
James E. Webb Jr., FPG, Stevenson
Dale K. Williams, NPG, Spring City
Drew Wilson, FPG, Chattanooga
Vanassa R. Workman, IS, Knoxville
28 years
Calvin W. Burrell Jr., NPG, Knoxville
David W. Burch, R&TA, Muscle Shoals
Donald B. Burt, NPG, Decatur
Stephen D. Cantrell, TVA Police, Jasper
Gregory R. Clark, NPG, Spring City
Thomas G. Dawes, NPG, Decatur
W. Jeffrey Edwards, NPG, Chattanooga
Gilbert W. Garner, NPG, Decatur
Peggy W. Gilbert, NPG, Decatur
Donald V. Goodin II, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Larry W. Grant, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Carl M. Haas, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Howard S. Hale, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Ross E. Hudgins, FPG, Cumberland City
John K. Hughes, FPG, Stevenson
Teresa B. Kerns, IS, Chattanooga
Daniel S. Lamb, OE&R, Knoxville
Kenneth L. Layne, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Jeffery L. Lewis, NPG, Decatur
John E. Killian, NPG, Soddy-Daisy
Scotty R. McClain, FPG, Watts Bar Dam
Landy L. McCormick, NPG, Spring City
