The Plainsman Press - South Plains College

Lineworkers are the men and women who build and repair the electrical lines that carry electrical power across the country and around towns. Most often, they simply build or make repairs to the lines. But when bad weather strikes, they are on call. If a line is damaged during a storm, lineworkers head out to repair it right then and there. They climb to the top of 40-foot poles, regardless of the weather the weather.

For 21-year-old Matthew Speer, this job is appealing. He enjoys the hands-on work. When Speer first came to South Plains College, he planned to be an electrician. Soon after starting college, he discovered the Electrical and Power Transmission program at SPC. In everyday terms, the program trains students as either lineworkers or electricians and prepares them to enter the work force.

It was at SPC that Speer first realized that he really wanted to be a lineman.

“I took the line classes because I thought they would be interesting. It turns out that was really what I wanted to do.”

Speer has completed all of the line classes that SPC offers and approximately half of the remaining classes in the ELPT program. He lacks a speech communication course to have an associate’s degree.

“Tech won’t take the speech class from SPC, but SPC will accept the speech class from Tech,” Speer said.

Currently, Speer is pursuing a degree in agriculture and applied economics at Texas Tech University. While being a lineman is his main goal, he wants to have a contingency plan. “It’s important to have a degree,” Speer said. “It’s something I can fall back on. Even if it doesn’t apply to what I’m doing now, it’s there. If being a lineman doesn’t work out, I have something to fall back on.”

Speer is an apprentice electrician, but after he graduates from TTU, he hopes to get a job with Excel Energy or an electrical coop. Speer says the most enjoyable aspect of linework is that it is very hands-on.

“You’re actually out there building and working on lines,” Speer said. “And that’s something that I enjoyed about my classes at SPC. We got to actually apply the things we were learning in class.”

In pursuing his goal of being a lineman, Speer competed in the 17^th Annual Lone Star Lineman’s Rodeo. The competition was held on July 17 at the corner of Indiana Avenue and the Clovis Highway in Lubbock.

Speer competed in five events: the egg race, a switch change out, knot tying, hurt man rescue, and a written test. All the events were timed.

The written test included compiled of questions taken from the “Lineman’s and Cableman’s Handbook.” Speer placed seventh out of 22 apprentice linemen.

In the egg race, the competitor carried an egg in a small bucket to the top of a 40-foot pole, dropped the bucket that was already at the top, placed the egg in his mouth, hung his bucket on the pole, and climbed back down. This entire process must be done without cracking the egg. He placed 15^th out of 22 competitors.

In a switch change out, the contestant must replace a fuse and a switch in the most efficient and quickest way possible. He finished 21^st out of 22 apprentice linemen.

During the hurt man rescue, apprentice linemen must start with all of their climbing gear on the ground. When the clock starts, they must “gear up,” climb to the top of the pole, attach a rope to a dummy, and lower the dummy to the ground. The clock stops when the dummy reaches the ground and the lineman yells “Slack.” Speer placed 11^th out of 22.

In the knot-tying contest, linemen had to tie a bowline knot, a clove hitch, and a square knot. He finished 14^th in the event.

Overall, Speer placed ninth out of 22 apprentice linemen. Speer doesn’t do these things for a living; he is a full time student, not a lineman. He participates because it is what he enjoys doing.

The apprentice linemen work at these areas often. Most of the apprentice linemen had at least two years of experience under their belts.

One of the things that stuck out in Speer’s mind about the Lineman’s Rodeo was that SPC and his linework teacher were behind him through the whole process.

“I was very grateful that SPC sponsored me in the rodeo,” Speer said. “They were behind me the whole way. Paul Harbin (the only instructor in ELPT program at SPC) was there at the rodeo with me. I really appreciated that.”