Taking Care of People

“I did not have it in my mind to be involved in the business,” said Mike Glode, 3rd generation co-owner of Shively Hardware in Saratoga. “That came later on when I was too stupid to get a real job.”

Mike, at 75 years old, still heads in each day to the business which was bought by his grandfather, E.J. Shively, in 1925. He’s not hard to miss, he’s tall and has a broad smile on his face. Mike will often stand near the entrance to the local hardware store, greeting people as they come in, or he might just be helping out at the registers.

“Coming into Shively’s everyday does not mean I am not retired. I want to be mildly useful. If I don’t come in every day, my wife [Lindy Glode] would have me working like a dog,” said Mike, with a grin. “I’ve done this for so long, I can’t imagine being away.”

A 1967 graduate of Platte Valley High School, he attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and then attended the University of Illinois on a fellowship before graduating with a degree in finance. According to Mike, after he graduated he “rushed” to come back to Saratoga.

“I was tired of being broke,” said Mike. “Even though tuition was paid for, I was not making enough to eat. My old man [John Glode] did not expect me to show up voluntarily to be a faithful worker.”

Around noon most days, Mike can be seen walking down East Bridge Avenue towards the Hotel Wolf for lunch. It’s there he joins his brother, Joe, for lunch along with other well-known town residents such as Randy Raymer and Doug Campbell. The table, which sits in the far corner of the restaurant, has been rumored to be where the real decisions of Saratoga are made.

“I guess you could say that. It looks that way doesn’t it,” said Mike with a laugh. “Those guys at the table are a lot more politically active but they keep me informed.”

That’s not to say that Mike hasn’t been politically active in his own time. For 13 years, he served on the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board, a board which owns and operates the Town of Saratoga’s water and sewer systems. Mike describes it as a “policy job,” with the primary function being to set water and sewer rates as well as plan improvements of the existing system.

“It's a way to Serve the community without going through the political process of council or mayor,” said Mike.

That’s something he would be familiar with, as serving on Saratoga’s governing body almost seems to be a family trait. His first wife, Kathy, served as mayor before passing away following a battle with cancer. The park across from Valley Village Child Care is named in her memory, a “reasonable request” according to Mike as Kathy had worked to apply for a grant to establish the park. His brother, Joe, served as mayor in the 1980s and his nephew, Ed, served on the town council and as mayor.

Along with his more than a decade of service on the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board, Mike was also involved in public education on the local, state and national level. He served on the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees for four years in the late 1980s, early 1990s.

“I was instrumental in getting some things changed,” said Mike. “Somebody had to do it and if you are not happy with what is going on then that is the place to go.”

Around that same time, Mike was appointed to the Wyoming State Board of Education and the National Assessment Governing Board. The latter, established by the United States Congress in 1988, sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Process (NAEP).

“Pretty extraordinary to be on the board from a small district. The national assessment board was not without controversy. Lot of people did not think we needed to be testing the students in the schools. We were of the opinion that [testing] was exactly what was needed,” said Mike. ‘[We] Wanted to do a comparison to get an idea of how the students were truly doing. I was very useful to them because I did not have any fear of losing my job for expressing my opinion. They [the board] thought that was pretty handy. Tell it like you see it.”

It’s not surprising Mike served on education boards at all three level as, according to him, he’s always been a champion for public education.

“I think it is important to get everybody educated. It is not always easy to get everyone educated. I’m not a fan of public money going into private schools. I think what we had before with private, chartered schools was a pretty good option,” said Mike. “Religious privately funded schools broadened the base. I’m interested in the separation of church and state. Makes me unpopular in this day and age.”

Along with serving on public boards, Mike has served on private boards as well. He still serves on the Corbett Medical Foundation, which was started by the late Kurt Bucholz.

“I came along at his invitation. We realized that the clinic could not stand on its own and needed to be subsidized,” said Mike. “That is where the foundation came in.”

It was the Corbett Medical Foundation which, in 2019, created the Healthcare Sustainability Project Subcommittee which would eventually become the Platte Valley Healthcare Project. The formation of this subcommittee resulted in the eventual construction and opening of the North Platte Valley Medical Center. According to Mike, the role of the Corbett Medical Foundation now is to serve as the fundraising arm of the hospital. It also works with donors and the physicians to direct the funds from the donors to what is needed in the facility.

When he was a little more agile, Mike enjoyed hunting and fishing in the Platte Valley. He admits he can’t do that anymore, but he still has memories of doing both throughout the area. According to him, his family spent a lot of time on the river. He was a fan of fly fishing, favoring catch and release.

Mike is now married to Lindy, who served as the District Clerk of Court and as a Carbon County Commissioner before retiring from public service. They’ve been married for nearly 20 years. The two are art patrons, often donating several pieces from their personal collection to fundraisers like the annual Party on the Platte. Between the two of them, they have six children and 10 grandchildren.

For the foreseeable future, Mike will still be found at Shively Hardware, where he enjoys seeing the various familiar faces of the Platte Valley. With that smiling face comes a true belief in customer service.

“From my point of view customer service is the main reason we are here and not someplace else. If we were not here you’d have to go to a Lowe’s or a Home Depot. We give a choice and a friendly local face,” said Mike. “I still enjoy seeing the people of the Valley, that’s what it is all about. I still get the satisfaction of taking care of people.”