City honors retiring railroad employee

After 33 years of working for Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroads, Bob Martinez put in his last day of work Tuesday before retiring. Martinez, who says his only plans are to spend the summer with his son, was honored by a proclomation from Mayor Bob Rosebrough declaring Tuesday as Bob Martinez Day. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

By Pamela G. Dempsey
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The gray-haired railroad worker, with his cap pulled down tight, took the mayor's proclamation quietly as his co-workers snapped pictures nearby.

"It's people like him, who, day in and day out, make the city run," said Mayor Bob Rosebrough.

Rosebrough designated May 31, 2005 as Bob Martinez Day; Martinez marked May 31, 2005 as his last day on the job at BurlingtonNorthern Santa Fe Railroad.

The now-retired lead carman spent the better part of the past 41 years working as a car driver, welder, and inspector for the railroad in Gallup.

Martinez first started work on May 26, 1964, following the footsteps of his father, Joe D. Molina.

Molina and Martinez worked together for more than two years before Molina retired.

"I was interested in what he was doing," Martinez said. "I just got married and had a little baby."

Seven years later, Martinez was laid-off from his job and for the next eight years found work as a meat-cutter and an insurance salesman.

He received the call to begin again with the railroad in 1979.

"I was real anxious to come back," Martinez said.

His happy attitude and his willingness to pitch in and help people are what his co-worker said they will remember most about him.

"He'll be sorely missed here," said Bruce Edwards, Martinez's foreman.

Longtime co-worker, Ron Dolfay, recalled Martinez as a man who even saved lives.

While working one night near Highway 264, Martinez and other co-workers ran to assist with a car accident nearby.

"Long before the ambulance go there," Dolfay said, "they were out there giving first-aid."

Martinez's daughter, Brenda Rosebrough, said what she learned from her father's willingness to get up and go to work each night was his work ethic.

"You don't think about it until you're older," she said. "When you see someone do that for you, it means a lot."

Martinez said what he'd miss most was the guys he worked with.

And while the avid hunter has more time to practice for elk hunting, Martinez said he had no definite plans.

"I'm going to take it day by day," he said. "I'm not planning on going back to work. I have no plans. I am going to enjoy the summer with my son."