Talk About Loyalty - Man Celebrates 60 Years With The Same Company

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Thu, 2007-11-01 10:23.

ST. CROIX FALLS, Wis. (CBS) ? A worker in Wisconsin just celebrated 60 years on the job with the same company.

For Tom Triemert, Oct. 29 was day number 15,603 - and counting. He has been with Strauss Knitting Mills in St. Croix Falls, Wis., since he quit high school.

"It's hard to believe, yes, it really is darn hard to believe," said Triemert, who was just 16 years old when he started working full time for Strauss, reported CBS station WCCO-TV in Minneapolis.

That was Oct. 24, 1947.

Now he's in charge of keeping all the complicated knitting machines running.

His knees don't work quite as well as they used to, but with six decades under his belt, he has no intention of quitting.

"I don't really have a plan. A day by day thing type of thing. As long as I am able, that's what I will do," said Triemert.

He has worked at Strauss Knitting before many of his coworkers were born, or their parents were born. He doesn't think of himself as a role model, but they do.

"Tom treats everybody like we all have value," said one coworker.

Strauss Knitting Mill employs 62 people, manufacturing cloth for everything from stretchy material for athletic uniforms to clean suits for high tech companies.

Triemont's seen a lot in his six decades on the job, and he's learned a lot too.

His philosophy?

"I think you gotta lay back and don't get excited. Don't get too hard on people, and don't be too hard on yourself, either," he said.

Triemert lives in Roseville, Minn. and drives across the state border to St. Croix Falls to go to work every day.

And when he's not working, his hobby is knitting. He knits stocking caps for the poor.