The following is is an excerpt from an August 2000 article about several people recalling their very first jobs.
OSWEGO, NY – Oswego County Undersheriff Robert Lighthall has stuck with his employer ever since he joined the workforce.
“I started as a corrections officer at Oswego County Jail; that was my first job. I’ve only had one employer,” he said. “I started in 1977, right out of college. The only W-2 form I’ve ever had was from the Oswego County Sheriff’s Department.”
Lighthall says he did some dairy farming when he was growing up, “but this has been it as far as work in the ‘real world.’”
He actually started with the Oswego County Sheriff’s Department while still in college.
“I finished my last exam, and went to work the next day,” he said. “I had to beg my supervisor to change my work schedule so I could have time off for graduation.”
The change in lifestyle took a little getting used to, he admits.
“All of a sudden, I was working midnight to 8 a.m. for 13 weeks with no time off (being trained),” he remembers. “It made a lasting impression on me that’s for sure. I’m still here.”
Lighthall has held every rank in the department up to his current position as undersheriff.
He admits he was never really concerned about moving up within the department.
“I would concentrate on learning the job I was in and doing the best I could in that position,” he said.
He added that he would also study the next step up.
“I just wanted to do the best job in the position I was in. If I felt ready to move up, then I would consider seeking a promotion,” he said.
He isn’t in any rush to move up right now, either.
“I’m still learning,” he said.
He said he’d support Reuel Todd if the sheriff decides to seek reelection.
But, who knows what the future will bring after that?
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