60-year courthouse employee tells tales
July 15, 2020
2020 retirement photo depicts, front row, left to right: Kami Stanton, Terra Stockton, Reta Voelker, Katie Epling, Hannah Henson; 2nd row, left to right: Daryl Rose, Kristina Hayes, Rosanna Miller, Cortni Newman, Sherry Allie, Katie Correia; back row, left to right: Judge Robert Foulke, Circuit Clerk, Craig Williams.
Sheila Harris
Long-time Barry County employee, Reta Voelker, has finally retired!
“I’d been getting that question - when are you going to retire? - from people for a lot of years,” said Voelker, who most recently served as Deputy Circuit Clerk. “They’d come into the office and ask, ‘are you still here?’ as if they couldn’t believe their eyes. It was a little awkward, but it didn’t worry me. I’d actually been thinking about retiring for the last several years but I wasn’t quite ready yet. Now I am.”
Her official retirement began July 1.
Voelker started working for the county courthouse in 1960, in an era when most women didn’t go to college and their employement options were limited.
“I had just graduated from high school,” Voelker said. “I was young, single, and still living with my parents. It just so happened, my aunt was married to a presiding judge, Lester Loftin. He put in a word for me with the Barry County Treasurer at the time, Lloyd Dilbeck.”
Voelker landed a job in Mr. Dilbeck’s office in the old courthouse, back in the days when old men filled the benches in the hallways, swapping stories and spitting into strategically located brass spittoons.
Voelker’s first job in the treasurer’s office involved counting lots of change.
“All of the Barry County schools brought the lunch money they collected from students each day into the treasurer’s office. A lot of it was in coins. It was my job to count it and credit it to each school district’s funds,” she explained.
“I remember being very nervous when I first started,” she admitted, “but Mr. Dilbeck set my mind at rest. He always said, ‘There’s no way you can make a mistake that can’t be fixed.’”
Lloyd Dilbeck turned out to be an easy-going boss in other ways as well. When times were slow in the office – as they sometimes were - Dilbeck encouraged her to bring her embroidery to work with her, an offer she took him up on.
“I’d sit in the office and embroidery,” she said. “It was my favorite past-time at the time.”
Voelker later left Lloyd Dilbeck’s office to help the county in other capacities.
“I was a ‘rover’ for a while,” she said. “I helped out whereever I was needed. I’ve worked for a judge, the assessor, the county clerk, the collector, and the recorder. In fact, I spent 15 years working for Dick Sanders in the Recorder’s office.”
During her time spent working in an unnamed judge’s office, according to a story oft-repeated by her co-workers, Voelker and her female counterparts were responsible for ensuring that the judge looked presentable for court appearances by touching up his hair and straightening his tie.
“I’ve heard it was part of their job description at the time,” one such employee, Kristina Hayes, said.
From county offices, Voelker moved to state, where she spent the last 26 years of her career working in the circuit clerk’s office.
In addition to Voelker’s expanded job portfolio, she added a few more favorites to her list of past-times through the years.
“I love fishing at Roaring River,” she said, “although I’ve backed off a bit since they took the fish-cleaning stations out.”
Farther afield, she’s made motorcycle and camping trips out west with her brother to visit relatives in that direction. A hot air balloon ride is still on her bucket list. In the meantime, she substituted a bit of parasailing, in spite of her fear of the water.
“I’d parasail again if I had the chance to,” she said.
For the time being, she plans to take things slower and just tend to the garden behind her house in Mineral Springs, where, in its hey-day, her parents once owned the general store.
We wish you all the best, Reta!
Long-time Barry County employee, Reta Voelker, has finally retired!
“I’d been getting that question - when are you going to retire? - from people for a lot of years,” said Voelker, who most recently served as Deputy Circuit Clerk. “They’d come into the office and ask, ‘are you still here?’ as if they couldn’t believe their eyes. It was a little awkward, but it didn’t worry me. I’d actually been thinking about retiring for the last several years but I wasn’t quite ready yet. Now I am.”
Her official retirement began July 1.
Voelker started working for the county courthouse in 1960, in an era when most women didn’t go to college and their employement options were limited.
“I had just graduated from high school,” Voelker said. “I was young, single, and still living with my parents. It just so happened, my aunt was married to a presiding judge, Lester Loftin. He put in a word for me with the Barry County Treasurer at the time, Lloyd Dilbeck.”
Voelker landed a job in Mr. Dilbeck’s office in the old courthouse, back in the days when old men filled the benches in the hallways, swapping stories and spitting into strategically located brass spittoons.
Voelker’s first job in the treasurer’s office involved counting lots of change.
“All of the Barry County schools brought the lunch money they collected from students each day into the treasurer’s office. A lot of it was in coins. It was my job to count it and credit it to each school district’s funds,” she explained.
“I remember being very nervous when I first started,” she admitted, “but Mr. Dilbeck set my mind at rest. He always said, ‘There’s no way you can make a mistake that can’t be fixed.’”
Lloyd Dilbeck turned out to be an easy-going boss in other ways as well. When times were slow in the office – as they sometimes were - Dilbeck encouraged her to bring her embroidery to work with her, an offer she took him up on.
“I’d sit in the office and embroidery,” she said. “It was my favorite past-time at the time.”
Voelker later left Lloyd Dilbeck’s office to help the county in other capacities.
“I was a ‘rover’ for a while,” she said. “I helped out whereever I was needed. I’ve worked for a judge, the assessor, the county clerk, the collector, and the recorder. In fact, I spent 15 years working for Dick Sanders in the Recorder’s office.”
During her time spent working in an unnamed judge’s office, according to a story oft-repeated by her co-workers, Voelker and her female counterparts were responsible for ensuring that the judge looked presentable for court appearances by touching up his hair and straightening his tie.
“I’ve heard it was part of their job description at the time,” one such employee, Kristina Hayes, said.
From county offices, Voelker moved to state, where she spent the last 26 years of her career working in the circuit clerk’s office.
In addition to Voelker’s expanded job portfolio, she added a few more favorites to her list of past-times through the years.
“I love fishing at Roaring River,” she said, “although I’ve backed off a bit since they took the fish-cleaning stations out.”
Farther afield, she’s made motorcycle and camping trips out west with her brother to visit relatives in that direction. A hot air balloon ride is still on her bucket list. In the meantime, she substituted a bit of parasailing, in spite of her fear of the water.
“I’d parasail again if I had the chance to,” she said.
For the time being, she plans to take things slower and just tend to the garden behind her house in Mineral Springs, where, in its hey-day, her parents once owned the general store.
We wish you all the best, Reta!
