Mr. Nelson Hoff was reared in the Bath area, the youngest of 14 children. His father Horace, a 25-year Keystone employee, was a quarry mechanic. He unfortunately passed away when Nelson was 15 years old.

"I worked on a local farm when I was 12 years old," Nelson recalled. He graduated from Nazareth High School in 1969.

"I started my cement career at Keystone in 1979, being hired by plant manager Frank Silfies" he said. "Over my 25 years, I have worked as a quarry mechanic, maintenance man and carpenter/millwright, and currently I am a Class A millwright."

I asked about his job responsibilities.

"We have a 15-member millwright gang working on repairing and maintaining all equipment in the plant, including welding.

"The team consists of highly skilled men who share information and work cooperatively to keep the plant operating safely and efficiently.," he said. "A radio communication system keeps us well informed on plant problems." The maintenance team is supervised by two fine men, Roger Derr and Mark Dlugos.

The new Keystone plant has a large belt conveyor system moving materials throughout the plant. It requires continual maintenance. Safety is a priority at Keystone. Weekly Friday morning safety meetings discuss any concerns or problems.

Mr. Hoff works both day and afternoon shifts. His afternoon partner is Rich Seier. Nelson enjoys coming to his job each day, he fondly remembers former employees Danny Schlegel and George Gasper who worked closely with him.

Nelson's spare time activities have kept him quite busy. The family supports activities at the Edgeboro Moravian Church, from baking tasty Moravian sugar cakes to Benevolence breakfasts. He coached Nazareth midget wrestling, Bushkill Township baseball and softball teams, Upper Nazareth Clippers softball team and Bushkill Township T-ball. All his sons wrestled for the Nazareth Blue Eagles.

Nelson has been married to Sherri Lahr Hoff for 41 years. Sherri is the guest relations manager at Martin Guitar in Nazareth. They are proud of daughter Heather, a director of nursing, sons Heath who is employed by Martin, Justin and Jarret, teachers at Easton and Nazareth, and son-in-law Ryan James, a Keystone employee. There are 11 lively grandchildren, providing for many holiday gatherings.

Mr. Hoff is a friendly, dedicated cement worker, following the work ethic taught to him by his parents. The hardy employee plans to retire in 2015. We wish him and his wonderful family good health, and a fruitful retirement.

This writer always appreciates the warm reception I receive from the Keystone family on my semi-annual visits there.