Larry, who has lived in Wingham his entire life, began work with Machin's on March 19, 1973. His last day of work with the company was September 2, 2021. That's 48 years of work with the same company.

Larry says the highlight of working at Machin's was the people he met, and "Just working with the blokes there."

"There's some good blokes out there," he said.

"The Machin family have been really good to work for and they've looked after me over the years."

Larry's retirement marks the end of an era at Machin's Sawmill.

"Larry was a very quiet sort of guy who really just got on with things. He had an incredible depth of knowledge of timber and how to saw logs up," Ralph Blenkin, owner and manager of Machin's Sawmill said.

"I took it a little bit for granted to start with, because everything used to just happen. Now you've got to explain everything to everyone. He also used to sharpen all the saws as well."

Retirement wasn't Larry's plan, however.

"I wanted to keep going, but the doctor said 'enough is enough'," Larry said.

Larry's medical retirement comes after 32 years of a chronic illness that requires frequent trips to hospital for treatment.

"I've spent a fair bit of time in hospital for treatment," Larry said.

Larry, who enjoys camping and fishing, has a little caravan and he says he wants to do a bit of travelling, but the need for regular treatment means he can't travel too far from home. COVID is also limiting him, as he needs to be careful around other people because of his illness.

While at home, he likes to do a bit of gardening.

"That keeps me busy," he said.

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