COLFAX - Forgive Leon Brandt if he can't remember the specific details of his first day on the job for Art Warsaw.

He might have listened to an Elvis Presley song while getting ready for work. Maybe he stopped at a gas station to put in five gallons of gas, which would have cost him about a dollar.

Or, with a new job, he might have looked into building a house that would have cost around $11,700. It would be better than paying $88 for rent every month.

After all, he was making 96 cents an hour.

Many things have changed since 1956, but some things about Brandt never did. On Sept. 26 that year, he began a career as a lathe operator. Fifty-two years later, at age 85, he's finally calling it quits at AW Dynamometer.

"He's got the greatest work ethic you have ever seen," said company owner Delbert Robinson. "Leon sets an example for everyone else to look up to. He is an example of a great American worker and we're going to miss him."

Never found a reason to leave

Brandt never set out to do the same job for more than half a century. He enjoyed the job and the people he worked with.

"I found that if you don't create a lot of problems for yourself and others, you are going to get along just fine," Brandt said. "I came to Colfax in 1936. I just never found a reason to leave."

Even now, Brandt doesn't want to retire. He tried it once, 10 years ago. He sat at home for two weeks and came back. Since then, he's worked 26 hours a week.

But wife Dorothy needs his help after a couple of back surgeries limited her mobility. The machinery keeps changing for a factory that manufactures equipment for power-testing engines; gone are the old-fashioned ways that Brandt cut his teeth on.

"Even our insurance people question having an 85-year-old guy work on a machine," Robinson said. "But they haven't met Leon."

And, Robinson said, the people who meet Leon are left with a lasting impression. Last Wednesday, the company stopped work at 11:30 to honor Brandt with a reception.

"I get really choked up talking about Leon because he is like a father figure to me and several others around here," Robinson said. "You hardly ever hear of anyone who has worked at the same place for over half a century. That's a long time, but Leon shows up for work every day and he works. He doesn't sit around and talk. He never stops. When he finishes something, he goes on to the next project."

Brandt, hanging up his apron for the last time, joined his co-workers for lunch and a final good-bye.

"I'm really going to miss the people here at work," Brandt said. "I've seen a lot of people come and go in my time. I've made a lot of friends here. But I'll be back to visit."