Gene Beck recalls 54 years of county service
Gene Beck knows a thing or two about serving the people of Putnam County.
And why shouldn’t he? Beck has been doing it — without much of a break — since 1966.
That will soon change, as Beck’s current term on the Putnam County Council expires on Jan. 1.
“I’ll be 80 this spring and it’s time for someone else to take over,” Beck told the Banner Graphic.
Beck was honored by fellow council members Dave Fuhrman and Keith Berry during a recent meeting of the Putnam County Commissioners for having served 26 years as a commissioner and 12 more as a councilman.
It goes further than that, though. Along the way, Beck also spent four years with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the better part of a decade as county highway superintendent, with it all adding up to more than half a century of service.
All along, it’s simply been a way to serve the county he calls home.
“I guess the biggest thing is, I was always involved at the county — what was going on and how the money was spent,” Beck said. “I just cared about what was going on in the county.”
The journey began in 1966 when Beck was hired by Sheriff Bobby Albright as a deputy, where he remained for four years.
During his time, Beck was in the first class to graduate from the newly-formed Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, which was in Indianapolis that first year.
That was 1969 or, as Beck recalls it, “the year they walked on the moon.”
“We were kind of guinea picks,” Beck said. “It was the first class and the state troopers taught everything, as far as that goes.”
Beck was one of two Putnam County officers in that first ILEA class, along with former Greencastle Police Officer Larry Rogers.
If Beck has a regret from his time serving the county, it might be that he did not stay in law enforcement longer.
“After years of it, I kind of wish I had stayed at the sheriff’s department longer than I did,” Beck said. “I ran for sheriff once and got beat in the primary, less than 200 votes. And I just didn’t go back and try it again.”
However, losing elections was not to be in Beck’s future, as six successful runs for commissioner and three more for council will attest.
“I ran for county commissioner right after that and was elected,” Beck recalled.
From there it was 20 years as an elected official — four terms as a commissioner and another on the Putnam County Council.
All those years of both listening to taxpayers talk about the condition of roads as well as understanding the budget process prepared Beck for his next challenge, becoming the county highway superintendent in 1992.
“I was the superintendent for 10 years,” Beck said. “I think my experience made a lot of difference. You kind of knew more about the county and budgets and everything.
“I enjoyed it, being at the highway, as far as that goes,” Beck said. “You saw where the money needed to be spent, more than what you did when you were a commissioner.”
Part of his decade as highway superintendent, Beck oversaw department’s move to the more spacious accommodations it now occupies southwest of Greencastle
“When I first took over, we were out by the fairgrounds,” Beck said. “We ended up building the new building out at the landfill, where it’s at now. There was quite a bit of work in making the transition, in terms of getting the building, working with the commissioners. At least we had room to do everything out there.”
He also believes that the highway workers were more appreciated during his tenure than they had been previously.
“I think when I went to the highway, the workers weren’t really appreciated,” Beck said. “Then after I had been there a couple, three years, I think they knew they were being appreciated for what the did.”
After 10 years, though, Beck returned to the Putnam County Commissioners when the District 1 commissioner passed away unexpectedly.
“Gene McFarland was the commissioner in my district and he passed away and they appointed me back as commissioner,” Beck said. “And I was commissioner until 2012 and then I went to the council.”
That’s where he’s spent the last eight years, with two more terms on the county’s fiscal body.
“I just still wanted to be involved in county business and everything,” Beck said. “We’ve had a lot of things happen in the county over those years, and if it wasn’t for my age, I think I would’ve stayed in it longer.”
Through all of these changes, Beck remained a farmer in Floyd Township as well, raising Hereford cattle, first with his own father and now with son Andy.
“I’ve farmed the whole time,” Beck said. “We’ve always had a lot of Hereford cattle. I think it was 1942 when my dad had his first Hereford cattle.
“I try to check stuff in the mornings and everything, what I can do,” he continued. “But I don’t get out that much anymore, especially this kind of weather. He does most of the work, my son does.”
Livestock is a family legacy at this point, though.
“We’ve showed cattle that we’ve had all over the United States,” Beck said. “We had National Reserve Champion Hereford Bull back in the 1980s.”
Both son Andy and daughter Kelly Colvin had other champions over the years, and their kids have also picked up the traditions.
Andy’s son Cody has had national champion heifers and is now lives in Oklahoma as a field representative for the American International Charolais Association.
Kelly’s two sons, Grant and Walter Colvin, have taken their talents into another sort of livestock.
“They’ve shown hogs nationally, everywhere,” Beck said.
While he has quiet country life to look forward to, without the interruption of county meetings, Beck is certainly grateful to those who have supported him over the years.
“One thing I am grateful for, is I thank the people of Putnam County for putting up with me all these years,” Beck said. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of people statewide by being commissioner, and nationally, as far as that goes.
“I guess I’m thankful for everybody in Putnam County who’s always appreciated what I’ve done.”