A pair of gold-plated boots adorns the training room at the city of Kyle’s public works building, which is named for retired public works director J.F. “Boots” Montague. (Courtesy photo)
STAFF REPORTS
When J.F. “Boots” Montague started as the city’s public works director, a position he would hold for more than 30 years, his duties included reading the meters, computing the bills and even taking the money.
“There were times when people would just stop me on the streets and hand me cash for their water bill,” Montague said.
Last week, a training room at the city’s new public works building was dedicated to Montague, who worked from June 1968 to May 1999. The training room seats 50 people and is much larger than the single building available to public works employees in Montague’s day, he said.
“When I had meetings with my crews, we either sat on a dirt floor or under a tree, and training was what we learned on the job,” he said. “In fact, when I took this job I didn’t know very much at all about plumbing. I sure learned a lot about it real fast.”
Officials from the city of Kyle, including Mayor Lucy Johnson, Mayor Pro Tem David Wilson and Councilwoman Becky Selbera praised Montague for his dedication to the city and his continued support of public works crews and projects.
“Your contributions to our city are too numerous to count,” Johnson said. “You have served our community in multiple capacities for a very long time and are truly an important part of our history. I am personally grateful that you still make yourself and your institutional knowledge available to our staff and citizens.”
At the dedication ceremony last Thursday, Montague took one look at an old pair of boots that had been gold-plated in his honor.
“Those boots are too dry to have ever been mine,” he declared.
