If you ask Dennis Underwood how many cars he's sold over the years, he'll just laugh.

"I get asked that a lot," he told me with a grin, "but I have no idea. It's in the thousands for sure."

Dennis sold his first car at Ford Groves in May of 1958, a few months before Bob Neff, whose family owns the dealership, was born.

On Friday, after 61 years and nine months on the job, he'll retire.

"It's time," he said. "You've got to do it sometime, but I've enjoyed what I do and I'm still enjoying it."

Dennis grew up on a farm about 13 miles northwest of Bloomfield, Missouri. He graduated from Bloomfield High School at age 16 and farmed with his father for a year or so before marrying his wife, Barbara, and going to work as an electrician at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis. He left that job after a few months and found a sales position at a Plymouth Desoto dealership in Clayton, Missouri.

"That was the beginning," Dennis said with a laugh.

After deciding they didn't want to raise a family in St. Louis, the Underwoods moved to Cape, where Ed Massey, who managed the Ford Groves dealership, decided to take a chance on Dennis, who was still a teenager at the time.

Dennis worked his way through the ranks -- from salesman to used-car manager and eventually part-owner of the dealership in 1972, along with Massey and Cliff Irwin. In 1986, they sold Ford Groves to Bob and the Schicker family, who continue to own and manage the dealership today.

"I've worked longer now for Bob than I did for myself and for Mr. (Fred) Groves," Dennis said.

In fact, with almost 62 years under his belt, Dennis has been associated with Ford Groves well over half the dealership's 105-year history. (Ford Groves, by the way, is among the 25 oldest Ford dealerships in the nation.)

I asked Dennis about the changes he's seen in the car business over the years. "It's the technology," he said. "When I started 61 years ago, and you sold a vehicle, you handed the customer the keys and that was it. Now you can spend hours showing people all the features."

Dennis remembers spending seven hours with one customer familiarizing her with all the bells and whistles on her new car. "As we get older, it gets more complicated," he laughed. "They add more stuff every year!"

Dennis and Barbara have been married now 63 years. They've raised four sons and have four grandchildren, which Dennis says he'll see more of now that he's retiring.

Work, Dennis said, doesn't seem like work when you enjoy what you're doing. "My health has been good, I've missed two or three days for an operation on my nose, I've had both ears operated on, so I was out a day or two for that, and that's it," he said. "I should have retired a long time ago, but I enjoy doing it and they haven't wanted me to retire, but hey, I'm 81 years old. I don't want them to carry me out!" he said with a laugh.

Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement, Dennis. (But before you leave, maybe you can tell me what this thingamajig on my Mustang does!)

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Pamela Chambliss

As long as we're talking about retirements, I'd like to mention two others who have a combined 79 years of service to their respective employers.

I learned last week that Pamela Chambliss has retired after more than 40 years with the Social Security Administration.

A native of Cairo, Illinois, Pamela started working at the Cairo Social Security office in September 1979. She also worked as a Social Security service representative in Marion, Illinois, and Ohio before transferring to the Cape Girardeau office, where she has been stationed since July 1992.

Wayne Edmundson

I also understand Wayne Edmundson, lead sewer maintenance technician with the City of Cape Girardeau, is retiring after 39 years of service to the city.

Wayne was recognized at the Feb. 17 City Council meeting by Mayor Bob Fox.

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I was asked several times at the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's monthly breakfast Friday about the tree clearing work taking place along the west side of Interstate 55 between exits 96 and 99. My initial assumption was it had something to do with Center Junction, the interchange of I-55 and U.S. 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson, where Penzel Construction is about to start a major highway redesign project.

However, I checked with the Missouri Department of Transportation's district office in Sikeston and learned the tree removal has nothing to do with the interchange construction. Rather, it's part of a separate project to remove aging trees MoDOT believes could fall on the interstate in a storm.

Weather permitting, work to remove some of the trees along the interstate between exits 96 and 99 will continue this week. Additional tree removal work will continue along I-55 south into northern Scott County in the coming weeks.

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