Grider Hill Marina has been a staple on Lake Cumberland since Bruce Sloan first opened in 1951.

With more than 67 years in business, only one person has been around almost as long as the dock itself and this year, Jim Conner plans to retire from Grider Hill after 53 years of service.

Conner started at Grider Hill Dock in 1965 and since that time, Conner has been apart of the growth and expansion that has taken place with the marina.

“I’ve seen it all,” Conner said. “It was slow at first and there wasn’t any houseboats and ski boats. There was a lot of fishing boats back them. Tony Sloan owned it for a lot of years and he built it up.”

Throughout the years Conner said he has seen the change from a fishing camp to a recreational dock with hundreds of slips and houseboats taking up the area where Grider Hill Marina is now.

“There wasn’t much here when I started. There were no covered slips,” Conner said. “I’ve liked it down here. It’s been a good job.”

During the 53 years Conner has been a part of Grider Hill Marina, he said he will miss talking with the people the most.

“I will miss the people I’d say,” Conner said. “I’ve got to know a lot of people over the years.”

Conner said the majority of the people he has met are from Indiana and Ohio.

“There have been some who has been here 40 years,” Conner said. “Some have been here a long time.”

When Conner first started his job at Grider Hill, he was a dock hand who would wait on customers and he said that’s how he got to know so many of them.

“That was about the only thing there was to do then,” Conner said. “Not like it is now. The last few years I have more or less taken care of the dock.”

Conner has been keeping up maintenance on the docks for the past several years. He said he can’t do as much as he used to do, but he enjoys coming to work every day.

During the summer months, when business is at its peak, Grider Hill will have several more jobs that normally are hired out for “summer hands” or teenage boys or girls.

“It’s been a good job working with all the boys. It’s good for the boys’ cause it gives them a job and it’s good for the dock too.” Conner said. “There’s been so many work down here. Right now I work with all the young boys and kind of show them what to do.”

During the winter months, Conner said there isn’t a lot to do other than building maintenance.

“You have to check everything everyday,” Conner said. ”

Conner said he isn’t 100 percent sure when his last day will be, but is confident it will be during this year.

“I can’t do the work I used to do,” Conner said. “I have problems hearing people, so I will probably go pretty quick.”

Conner turned 75 in May of this year and lives just a few miles from the dock.

“It makes it easier to get to work,” Conner said. “It don’t take long that’s for sure. I wouldn’t have been here that long if I didn’t like it.”