David Wortham comes from a family who served for and worked for the City of Howe. Wortham’s mother Marilee was the city secretary for a number of years and his father, Dug Wortham, was the mayor of Howe in the 1960’s. Taking a job with the city in 1975, just after graduation from Howe High School, David Wortham has had hands-on experience with every street and pipe in Howe. In July, he will celebrate 40 years with the city.
“Back then, you couldn’t hardly find a job.” said Wortham. “I went and lived with my aunt in Duncanville for a little bit. Mother was the city secretary and said they had someone quit and was looking for someone. I said, I’ll go back to Howe and go to work until I find something better. I haven’t found nothing better yet.”
Wortham started on the trash service crew in 1975. He worked on that crew until Howe started contracting out the trash service. At that time, he moved into the water side of public works and says that part of the job has changed drastically over the years.
“Getting the drive-by meters changed everything.” said Wortham. “With all of this rain we’ve had, it would’ve taken a week to read meters because you’d have to pump out the water (from the meter boxes).”
The drive-by meters allow for Wortham to set up his laptop in his vehicle and simply drive by the location and a signal is sent from the meter.
Wortham says that he should be able to keep going another five years or so. “In five years, I’ll be almost 65 and I think that I ought to still be in good enough health if we want to travel and do stuff, we can do that.” said Wortham.
Wortham and his wife Jerri will celebrate 30 years of marriage on July 20. They have two sons.
As a youngster, growing up in Howe, he went from having his father as the mayor to having his father die suddenly at the young age of 43. Dug Wortham was elected mayor in April of 1967 by a landslide vote of 194 to 7 over E.B. (Smokey) Christopher. He replaced C.C. Jones, who did not seek re-election. He was re-elected in 1969 by defeating Joe King 131-65. Wortham was recognized by the Howe Chamber for his long-range economic growth plans. Under his leadership as mayor came the Dairy Queen, the opening of US 75, new Church of Christ building on Collins Freeway, new High School on Beatrice Street, new Enco gas station on Collins Freeway, new joint sewer contract with Sherman, new housing in Western Hills, new Bethel Baptist Church, doubled the city sales tax income, and negotiated a deal to bring Magni-Fab to Howe. He may have opposed a mobile home development pushed by City Manager George Barnes, which might have played a factor in Wortham’s decision not to seek re-election in April of 1971. He died 13 months later.
“He had stomach problems.” said Wortham. “Mother told me that when he was 16 years-old, they laid him open and had all of his intestince out because they were twisted up. After a couple of days, they untwisted and they put them back in and sewed him back up.”
After Dug Wortham’s death, that left his mother Marilee as a single mother to Carla, David and Scott. It also left one of Howe’s biggest civic leaders gone.
Three years later, David Wortham graduated from Howe High School and his story with the City of Howe started. Just like his father, he has been an ambassador to the city, but by starting on the trash truck and working to the head of the public works division.
Most citizens are quick to complain when the water is shut off in their homes, but few are willing to jump in a muddy ditch and try and patch a hole in an old steel pipe as Wortham has countless times in his 40 years.
Wortham was also a member of the Howe Volunteer Fire Department for over 30 years. “I stopped once because both of my boys were in Boy Scouts.” said Wortham. “When they both got out (Jerry) Campbell asked me to come back so I did for about five years or longer.”
The older Wortham got, the harder it was to get awoken at night by a fire call and then work a full day the following day.
When asked about what the major city projects that have stood out to him, he talked about the city adding a larger underground water storage tank on Young Street and gave the old one to Howe ISD which now rests at Bulldog Stadium. He also talked about the additional water tower that was placed west of US 75 with ground storage, but he says the biggest project has been bringing the surface water from McKinney through Melissa, Anna and Van Alstyne for Howe to have access to for future development. All new developments will have the surface water instead of Howe’s well water. All new developments will also have new piping to those new homes and businesses.
“The difference in surface water and well water is the taste.” said Wortham. “People from the metroplex coming this way have been drinking surface water already.
Wortham’s biggest headache over the years comes from the concrete water pipes in Western Hills. “If it’s too dry it breaks. If it’s too wet, it moves around and breaks.” said Wortham. “We are getting more plastic pipes in the ground now instead of the old steel.”
A failure decades ago to spend the extra money to put valves around town now causes the city to turn all of the wells off during a leak instead of being able to isolate the older part of town. “The water has to run out on the ground until we get it fixed.” said Wortham.
Wortham was one of eight city employees in the public works department when he started 40 years ago. He was hired on to pick up trash and has worked his way to the top of the department by doing all of the things that a lot of people won’t do. While some citizens will complain about being without water for an hour or two, no one will ever hear Wortham complain. He’s picked up trash, wrestled pipes in the mud (day and night), captured about a thousand dogs, baked in the hot sun putting black top in pot holes, dipped water out of water meter buckets, and survived a couple of dozen city manager and mayor changes. Congratulations David Wortham for your 40 years of dedication to your city.
