Roger Lee Gathman was born July 13, 1942, at the Hand Hospital in Hartley. He was the eighth child of 10 born to William and Alice (Muilenberg) Gathman. He attended country school until the eighth grade and then graduated from Hartley High School in 1960.

After high school, Roger worked for Everly Cooperative Elevator and the Honeybee Corporation in Everly. In 1965, he began working for Hoper’s Machine Shop in Hartley. He purchased the business from Bob Hoper in 1975 and operated it until he retired in 2006. In addition to his work at the shop, Roger found success fishing the PWT and NAWA wall...