In his 35 years with Northern Electric Cooperative, Tyler Marken’s job has taken him all over the Midwest and even overseas. Early in his career, Tyler went to Sudan once and twice to the Dominican Republic to help bring electricity to communities devastated by natural disasters and civil war. He’s traveled to Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, and around South Dakota helping restore power after winter storms. As a journeyman lineman, Tyler has done a variety of jobs at Northern in addition to lineman, including dispatching, staking, ESRI/GIS-based mapping, and acquiring easements. His career taught him how to be disciplined, how to have courage, and how to have pride in his accomplishments, he said.

Each travel opportunity was a unique experience and had its own rewards and hardships. While most places in the United State use the same or similar infrastructure, the systems are different, Tyler said. Since 1990, electric providers have seen major changes and improvements in infrastructure and gear. While some cooperatives had made the jump to newer technology, such as electronic instead of hydraulic powered equipment, others were still using analog devices. In addition, Tyler traveled to help during times of duress, which meant stressed out communities.

“The first thing is safety, though,” Tyler said. “When we go on a storm job, we have to restore their electricity safely.”

Snow, wind, and ice made working with unfamiliar equipment even more difficult on storm assistance jobs. Most of the work lineman do is in the right of way, aka the ditch. After a winter storm, the ditches are filled with snow. The linemen are then trying to work safely in deep snow that hinders the equipment.

“Some of the equipment we have can reach from on the road, but some of it you have to be right by the pole,” Tyler said.

Having four-wheel drive vehicles is a very valuable resource, Tyler said. When he started at Northern Electric, the bucket trucks were two-wheel drive and crews had to put chains on the wheels for extra traction on slippery roads. Those trucks had manual transmissions, and most did not have air conditioning. Now the bucket trucks look less like regular pickup trucks, and more like what they are: specialized equipment with built-in safety measures. The hardest winter jobs were the storms that struck between February and March, he said.

“You get the weather event that makes it warm enough to rain to form ice, but then it gets cold and everything you touch is covered in ice or snow,” Tyler said. “If the line falls down, then it usually gets covered up with snow and you’re constantly digging for it and trying to find it. Getting the wire up on the overhead is a battle because it’s full of ice.”

Helping in other countries had unique challenges as well. In some places, it wasn’t just fixing damaged infrastructure. It was building an electric system from the ground up, including getting community buy-in for the cooperative principles and teaching residents how to construct and maintain the grid. In addition, Tyler had to overcome the language barrier.

“In the Dominican Republic everything was Spanish. I speak no Spanish. In Africa, it was Swahili or Arabic or German or Italian or French, and I speak none of those,” Tyler said.

The jobs in other countries that Tyler went on were organized by National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International. Northern Electric Cooperative is a member of NRECA, which upholds the same cooperative principles. Since 1962, NRECA International has established more than 250 electric utilities and cooperatives in 54 countries.

“The NRECA sent a posting looking for linemen who could climb, because there’s no equipment over there. And for people who had discipline in adverse living conditions and extraordinary working conditions. So, I volunteered,” Tyler said.

Through his career, one thing has stood out the most: the members. Tyler has had the opportunity to meet and connect with people from all walks of life. As a lineman, Tyler is constantly engaged with the public. From answering questions about service calls and easements, to addressing concerns and complaints, linemen are constantly engaging with the membership, he said. 

“Probably the fondest memories I have are all the times dispatch called at 2 o’clock in the morning, asking us to go turn a member’s lights back on,” Tyler said.

Although being woken up in the middle of the night doesn’t sound like a fond memory, Tyler said it’s because of the trust placed in him by the members.

“It’s a fond memory because, yes, I had to get up in the middle of the night, but in their darkest hour, they called us,” Tyler said.

Even with 35 years at the same company under his belt, Tyler doesn’t plan to retire for at least a couple more years. His son, Eilert, is following in Tyler’s footsteps. Eilert recently graduated from Michell Technical Institute and is working toward Journeyman Lineman at NorthWestern Energy in Aberdeen.

“I want to still be in the occupation when he gets his journeyman card,” Tyler said.