The Cloverland family will treasure two of our retired employees with fond memories. Learn what some of our employees will remember most about these two beloved linemen who served our members for a collective 57 years.
Dan Wightman (1955-2020) – Mackinac Island Line Foreman
Retired May 2018 after 38 years of service
Dan was always ready to help the community any way he could. His knowledge of the locations of the island’s electrical, water and communication systems was unmatched. Anyone could call him day or night for advice. He will be greatly missed by his family, coworkers, and island residents.
— Don Smith, Mackinac Island Line Foreman
Dan always treated me with respect. I will miss his quick wit and funny comments. I always respected his knowledge of the underground circuits on the island, which will be missed for sure. All around, I really enjoyed being around Dan and I will miss him.
— Ken Gillmore, St. Ignace Line Foreman
Working only for the short time that I did with Dan while he was at Cloverland, he greatly helped me understand the intricacies of Mackinac Island. Knowing what we could and could not do over there and who I needed to contact for different things that we just take for granted on the mainland. He was a huge asset for me while I navigated my new position within the company. He was also a huge asset for the cooperative, not only with his years of service, but even in retirement taking on a consultant role and helping us whenever we needed.
Not only was he a good employee, I considered him a good friend. He would help me out and answer any questions that I had about the Island and past constructions or what he knew about future growth. This would happen at any time of day or day of the week. He was never concerned about the time he spent helping – he would just do it out of the goodness of his heart.
I would try and stop in with my boys to see Dan whenever my family and I were on the island because he would love to see my oldest boy run around and get into things and cause me grief. He got the biggest kick out of that and would talk about it every time we spoke and start laughing like it was happening all over again.
Dan Wightman was a good man, not only for this cooperative and Mackinac Island, but most importantly to his family and friends. He will be greatly missed.
— Pete Postula, St. Ignace Division Manager
Harley Boone (1947-2020) – Dafter Line Foreman
Retired June 2008 after 19 years of service
Harley was never at a loss for words. He always had an interesting story to tell. I remember a time when we were driving between jobs and he was telling a story about this ole’ farmer from Suttons Bay. He had me laughing so hard it hurt. That’s the type of guy he was, if he saw you were down, he would try to pick you back up.
— Paul Warner, Director of Operations
Harley would always take his time and work safe as a lineman. He will be remembered as one of Cloverland’s linemen who was well known by many people throughout the community. He took a lot of pride in his involvement with the Sheriff posse and the Chippewa County Fair. It was always a pleasure to see Harley riding his horse in local parades or working security at the I-500.
Harley would also share many of the excellent baked goods that his wife, Emily, would make. One of my favorites was what he called “the forgotten cookie.” It was a funny looking white little cookie that I think was made mostly of egg whites and sugar and it was delicious. It was always a pleasure working with Harley Boone.
— Jim Wilson, Director of Safety