Decades of Dedication: Kyle Ehnes Retires

In 1979, gas was 86 cents a gallon, U.S. president Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT II nuclear treaty, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and Kyle Ehnes started his career at the Homestake Gold Mine in Lead. 

45 years later, Ehnes will remove his brass tag from the board for the last time. 

“There has been a lot of good memories, and yes, good money in this career. I raised my kids. I put them through college. It's just been awesome. Yeah, mining is hard work, it turns out it's hard to leave too.” 

Ehnes describes his retirement as bittersweet. Like many past Homestake workers, and SURF employees today, Ehnes and his family have a long legacy on this site.  

“My dad started out at Homestake in September of 1959. Came down here right after the Deadwood Fire of that year,” Ehnes said. His brothers, Keith, Kevin, and Kim all followed suit with jobs at the mine. “What is really cool is dad started his career in 1959 on the 3650 Level, then when I came to work at Homestake, I mined on the 3650 L. Years later, when my son Austin was employed for Thyssen Mining he came to SURF to help with the DUNE excavation and worked on a borehole for the lab from the 3650 L. So, three generations of us worked on that level.” 

Ehnes believes that the ongoing efforts to preserve history and to recognize the legacy of generations of workers in the former mine is important for everyone at SURF.

“You got to think back if it wasn't for Homestake, none of us would be here today at SURF. If we had to start this deep underground laboratory from scratch, it would never happen. Thanks to all those generations of Homestake workers, we have the infrastructure here to make this work. And thank God, because this research, and this important work, might happen somewhere other than United States.”

Ehnes time included playing an important role in the refurbishment process for the Ross Shaft at SURF. He helped lead the procurement and inventory tracking on that major overhaul.

“The only thing I didn't order for that whole shaft was the steel and the wood. Everything else I ordered, nuts, bolts, tools, whatever they needed,” Ehnes said. 

Ehnes has helped to lead multiple projects and teams over the decades; he has one key piece of advice for new employees who come to work at America’s Underground Lab. “Ask the old guys,” he said. During his time at Homestake, Ehnes was injured in a rock fall underground while working alone. He says this experience reinforced his belief in the value of safety. “Don't just go in there thinking that you're this almighty person, safety has to come first. I preach safety because of my experience. Don't try and be a hero. Just ask the people who have experience. They will tell you.”

One of those with a great deal of experience at SURF is Kyle’s supervisor, Wendy Straub, the director of hoists and shafts. “What I appreciated most about Kyle is the “we’ll get it” attitude. No matter how challenging the situation, I knew that Kyle would make it happen and we always had fun working through the issue as he has a great sense of humor,” Straub said.

In the coming years, Ehnes plans to spend more time with family, do a little golfing, and travel the country to see some Nascar races. He also plans to drive his 1977 Monte Carlo that has been in his garage since he was a junior in high school. 

“I just like to thank both Homestake and SURF for giving me an opportunity to be here for so many years. It's been a good living. I've had good crews and good people to work with. You know, out of everything I will miss, it will be the people,” Ehnes said.