RHINELANDER - Keith McCaffery takes his job at the Department of Natural Resources in Rhinelander seriously. So, seriously he's been strolling into work here for nearly 12 years for free!


Keith McCaffery, Volunteer, DNR, says, "I have a great deal of affection and admiration for the the colleagues that I've worked with here. And it's really a thrill everyday to be able to come back and be able to associate with them. And I felt that I was getting fairly good at what I was doing and it's kind of fun to continue!"

Continue helping with the deer management program by assisting his co-workers with research on deer herds. And this Wisconsin native says it's a career he became interested in at an early age.


McCaffery says, "Way back when I was in 7th or 8th grade, I developed an interest in conservation."

But McCaffery also credits his father for helping him realize his calling in life.

McCaffery says, "My dad told when I was trying to choose which vocation I wanted to pursue when I was in college he said, 'think about what you like to do in your spare time.'"

And that spare time fun lead to a rewarding career lasting nearly four decades.

McCaffery says, "I had 37 years of experience that I didn't want to just throw away."

And McCaffery's not throwing it away, but rather builiding on it for 49 years and counting.

McCaffery says, "If I stop having fun, I'm sure I'll quite. I hope I'm going to be sensitive enough to the point when I feel like I'm no longer really making contributions to the outfit, hopefully I'll quite, because I don't think my bosses know how to get rid of me!"

And McCaffery says he has no plans of giving up on volunteering anytime soon.

Story By: Jeff Allen