CURWENSVILLE — For Bill Royer of Grampian, it has been a natural progression to the position of park manager at Curwensville Lake Recreation Area.

Royer, who was recently hired for the position, spent a lot of time at the lake fishing to fill his time when he lost his job as a manager at the Sears department store in DuBois when the store closed in late 2018.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, Royer said he suddenly had many hours to fill after the job he had devoted 26 years of his life had ended. He said he chose to spend some of those fishing at Curwensville Lake.

“I like to fish and there is great fishing here,” Royer said. He named muskies, crappies and bass as some of the species he enjoys casting his fishing lines for –all prevalent species at the lake.

“Some of the biggest crappies I’ve ever caught have come from this lake,” he told The Progress.

It was during a fishing excursion to Curwensville Lake in 2019 that he learned the authority was looking for someone to fill a vacant position on the grounds crew.

“I thought, why not?” Royer said. He said he enjoys the outdoors and the pleasing scenery at Curwensville Lake would make it a pleasure to come to work each day.

“This is a very quiet and tranquil place. It’s peaceful, there’s lots of fresh air and beautiful surroundings here,” he said noting some of the reasons why he wanted to work at the lake.

He said he worked with the grounds crew for one year before he was promoted to the head of the lake’s maintenance crew.

In March he advanced again to the position of park manager. He said he hopes to bring some consistency to the job where there have been turnovers in recent years.

“I enjoy the challenge and the diversity of this position. I don’t get overwhelmed. That’s something I learned as a manager at Sears. I just try to find a way each day for different personalities to get along and work together to get the jobs done,” Royer said.

He said he oversees 15 employees who work as part of the the grounds crew and the office staff. They range in age from 14 to 65.

While sometimes personnel matters can be challenging, Royer said he has great affection for his co-workers, some with whom he has worked with from the beginning. “Everyone gets along. We are like a big family here,” he explained.

Royer said he would like to encourage everyone to visit…