TYLER MAN NAMED NEW ASSISTANT MANAGER OF TP&L SHERMAN DISTRICT
Tom Claycomb, Jr., has been appointed assistant manager of the Texas Power & Light Company's Sherman District, was announced today by TP&L president, W.W. Lynch.  Mr. Claycomb, who assumeds his new duties immediately, comes to Sherman from Tyler, where he held the same position.
He succeeds R.S. McAfee, who has been named manager of TP&L's Sherman District.
Mr. Claycomb has been employed by Texas Power & Light Company since 1942 when he started as patrolman's helper in Royse City.  After only three months, his work with the company was interrupted by more than three years in the Army Air Force, during which time he saw active duty in the Pacific Theater for a year and a half.  He left the Air Force a first lieutenant with the
Distinguished Flyer Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
After his discharge, Mr. Claycomb returned to school, receiving his B.S.degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A & M College in 1949.
Immediately after finishing school, he re-joinned the Texas Power & Light Company as a student engineer in the McKinney district.  He was transferred to Tyler as an engineer in 1952.  He became district distribution superintendent there a year later, and in 1956 was named assistant district manager.
Mr. Claycomb was born in Melissa and received his early education in the public schools of Royse City and at East Texas State College at Commerce, where he majored in mathematics and pre-engineering.


JOE DURNING RETIRES AS SHERMAN DISTRICT MANAGER OF TP&L CO.
Rounding out almost half a century of continuous service in the electric industry, and 38 years as manager of the Texas Power & Light Company at Sherman, J.H. Durning retired from active service with the company this week.
After being in the employ of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway at Denison for several years, Mr. Durning began his career in the electric industry in 1912 with the Wichita Falls Electric Company. He was transferred to Sherman in August 1916, as chief clerk, and was made managr for the company there in 1919.
Mr. Durning has been a part of practically every civic activity in the city of Sherman.  When he is asked about his civic work, Mr. Durning stated that, "I have always tried to carry my part of the load."
When asked about his future plans, Mr. Durning stated, "Retirement is my greatest adventure since I was made manager of Texas Power & Light Company.  I am going to put everything into it just as I have put everything I had into my job."

BOB McAFEE IS NEW SHERMAN DISTRICT TP&L MANAGER
Appointment of Robert S. McAfee as manager of Texas Power & Light Company's Sherman District was announced today by TP&L President W.W. Lynch.  Mr. McAfee, who has been assistant manager of the district since October 1952, will assumer his new duties immediately.
Mr. McAfee succeeds J.H. Durning, who has retired, and with whom he had been closely associated in the Sherman district since his employment with the company in 1916.
He is a native of Sherman and was educated in the public schools of that city.
His service record of 41 years with Texas Power & Light began with his employment as a helper on the Sherman line crew.  He was made foreman of the crew in 1920 and in 1923 he assumed the duties of district distribution superintendent.  In 1 952 he was named assistant managr, which position he held until his present appointment.
While distribution superintendent, Mr. McAfee constructed what might be termed the forerunner of TP&L's portable transformer from parts assembled from various sources.  Starting with an old car frame, he added wheels, bed, lights and the transformer.  At the time it would carry the load of almost any customer in Sherman.  It was used until around 1955, when the voltage serving Sherman was increased fro, 2,400 to 12,500 volts.
Since the death of his only son, who also was an employee of Texas Power & Light, in July 1951, Mr. McAfee has dedicated a large portion of his free time to young boys - "Anything to help youth, no matter what it is."
One of the results of his work along this line was the Boys Baseball League which he organized in Sherman in the spring of 1953 for 8 to 12 year olds.  The next year he was largely instrumental in securing a 99-year lease basis from the Old Settlers Reunion a park for the youngsters with a seating capacity of 600.
He has worked directly with the Future Farmers of American and one year was named "Lone Star Farmer".