52 years of service: meet the longest-serving government worker in Sask.

In 1963, Saskatchewan’s premier was Woodrow Lloyd. Gas was six cents a litre. The price of a home was $16,000. It was also the year that Walter Mikulsky began work with the provincial government.

After a little over 52 years on the job, he’s retiring as the longest-serving government employee in Saskatchewan’s history.

“I do want to express my appreciation for the honour of serving the people of Saskatchewan and the Government of Saskatchewan. Hopefully I’ve done a good job over the years,” he said.

Working in four different ministries over five decades might seem like a grind, but Mikulsky expressed how time went by quickly because of the interesting nature of the work he did, along with the people he worked alongside.

Mikulsky spent the majority of his time in the Ministry of Education designing schools. The layout of schools is a little different today compared to the 1980s when he first started in the ministry, he explained, and so too is the use of technology like smart boards and computers.

But while schools may not look exactly like they did in the past, he maintained he still designed them with the intent of making sure students and teachers were comfortable in their environment.

Primarily working an office job for the last 50 years, Mikulsky said he’s going to make a point of spending more time outdoors in his retirement, walking around Wascana Park, gardening and visiting family in northern Saskatchewan.

“Hopefully do some fishing although I’m not very successful but I do get to wash a lot of bait,” he laughed.