The Canton community turned out to support workers leaving their last shifts at Pactiv Evergreen papermill on Thursday.
Bruce Lovelace started at the mill on August 29, 1972. On Thursday, he walked out of the plant in the afternoon for the last time.
“I’m happy but I’m sad also because it’s over with,” Lovelace said. “But I was ready to retire anyway they just shut down when I was ready to go.”
Lovelace carried his orientation paperwork along with him to commemorate the end of his career. His family, including all of his grandchildren, surprised him at the end of his shift with a big sign that read: “Congratulations Granddaddy 51 years.”
Friday is the last day for most people at the plant. Lovelace’s son Jonathan is one of the few workers asked to continue at the plant after the closure. The plant is expected to continue the wastewater operation for two years.
“I’m still employed for two years,” said Jonathan. “It’s been tough.”
Only 10 people in his department were asked to stay on, he said.
“So I’ve had to say goodbye to some guys that I’ve worked with for quite a while. That’s a little tough,” he said. “That you had that opportunity and not everybody else did.”
His wife Rachel said she is thankful for the way that the town has handled the closure and the support of the community.
“People show up. I’ve seen some people here that aren’t directly affected by the closure but they are here anyways. I think that is a big deal to say that your community rallies around you,” she said.
Jonathan agreed. “The community comes together – I just hope that we don’t lose that. That’s my biggest fear, that we lose that connectedness,” he said.
Ray Queen worked at the Canton papermill for more than 57 years. The 82-year-old said the final day was bittersweet.
“There wasn’t much going on today. Everything is down now. It’s kind of lonesome now,” he said. “I’ll miss coming in here every day, but I’ll have a good time too. I’ll have a lot of time to spend where I haven’t before.
He said he started at the Waynesville plant in 1959 and then was laid off in 1961. He counts his 57 years on the job starting when he got his job at the Canton plant in 1965. He was in the Air Force and had other jobs in between.
Queen’s daughters, Kim and Theresa, came out to thank their father.
“Respect for a job well done and taking care of us and making sure we had what we needed,” Kim said.
Theresa said that her father has been working at the plant since she was about 2 years old. She’s 59-years-old now.
“We just wanted to support him just because even though he said he wouldn’t, we knew he would be sad,” Theresa said.
Their brother, Michael Queen, came to the sendoff as well, following his graveyard shift at the Pactiv Evergreen plant in Waynesville.
“I’ll work off in the morning and then that will be it,” he said.
Michael Queen starts his new job at Linamar Light Metals facility, on Monday. He said it was a complicated feeling to celebrate his father’s retirement and start a new job at the same time.
“Life goes on we just have to deal with it and take it as it comes,” he said.
