Craig Daily Press

Dorothy Webb has spent the last quarter century helping folks in Northwest Colorado. From stocking fishing tackle, gloves, undergarments and socks to ordering inventory and pricing items, this local figure is a guaranteed smile waiting for residents and visitors alike when they walk in the doors of Cashway Distributors. This Saturday, she'll say goodbye to it all she's retiring.

"Well, I hope I'm retiring, I may be right back here," she said with a smile. "I'm a creature of habit and that's what's kept me here so long. I'm really going to miss the contact I have with the public."

Cashway Distributors' owner, Jim Simos, said that Webb will be sorely missed at his store.

"You can set your clock by Dorothy," he said. "She's the most prompt person I've ever met in my life. She's here at one minute to nine each day she works, leaves exactly at noon for lunch and pulls back into the parking lot at 30 seconds to 1 p.m. Then she leaves precisely at 5 p.m. I'm really going to miss her."

Simos said that dedication and commitment like Webb's doesn't come along every day.

"If I give her a job, she gets it done, no questions asked," he said. "And, she's got a memory like a steel trap. She can remember exactly how many lures we ordered a year ago now that's pretty good."

Webb moved to Craig from Delta as a young girl in 1945. She's seen the community evolve over the years but remains loyal to a growing town that still has small town values.

"I remember there used to be an apartment complex in the parking lot of the store," she said. "That was probably in the early 40's. I've been through three owners here at the store, and I've been fortunate. All of them have been real good to work for and with."

Although Webb and her husband Bill moved from Craig to Arizona in 1986, they soon returned, almost two years to the date they left they couldn't say goodbye to the community forever.

"I don't like change. Time has gone on and I've gotten older and I've always thought 'if you know your way around your job, there's no need to go any place else,'" she said. "I've done a lot of other jobs in my life and this one is by far the best."

Webb is the fishing expert at the store and often helps local and visiting fisherman choose the right tackle, bait and the best fishing holes.

"Honestly, I don't know that much about lures," she said. "I really listen to the fishermen who come into the store they all seem to know a lot about the lures. I'm a live bait fisherman, I like night crawlers. The other people who come in the store tell me what's biting and what they're biting on. Then I pass that on to my other customers."

Webb is a huge help to Simos and the store during big game rifle hunting season.

"I wish I had a quarter for every hunting license I've written out. I'd definitely be rich," she said. "I may come back this year to help with the hunting rush. Besides, it's really fun and the out of state hunters like to see the same face year after year. But, until then, I'll be home and I'll have more freedom to enjoy my retirement years."