With retirement, Ennis looks forward to a new chapter

Duane Ennis never expected to be working in a research facility. Before he began his tenure at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Sanford Lab) in 2008, he had a passing acquaintance with science through classes at school and the Moon Landing in 1969. And then there was this strange neutrino experiment tucked away in a corner of the 4850 Level of the Homestake Mine, where he worked from 1980 through 2002.

“Not many people had seen the workings of that experiment and those that had only described a large tank filled with some chemical,” Ennis said. “There was not much publicity concerning the experiment or much information available. I don’t remember the neutrino experiment even mentioned in any high school science classes.”

The experiment to which Ennis is referring, of course, is the solar neutrino experiment that was run by Dr. Ray Davis, a chemist from Brookhaven National Laboratory, whose interest in understanding neutrinos brought him to Homestake in the mid-1960s. It’s also the same experiment that led to a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics for Davis in 2002.

But Ennis wasn’t concerned with the matters of interstellar particles; after all, he thought, “what were they good for?” No, his focus remained on more earthly things—specifically those things with wheels. And for most of his life, including 22 years at Homestake and another 12 at SURF, he served as a mobile equipment mechanic.

As he prepares to retire in the coming days, Ennis reflected on his years at SURF and how his time here created in him a new passion for science.

We’ll let him tell you about it in his own words.

Homestake Days

“You know, every day at Homestake was a challenge. We were working on machinery that didn’t exist anywhere else. It was a mix of 1920s technology and some of the most up-to-date concepts dealing with mining. It was a unique place. How many people can say they have been 8,000 feet underground, let alone worked at that depth?

“Homestake’s closing was bittersweet. At the time, I considered it as just a job. I didn’t realize what I was missing until it closed. The bottom line is the people—they are the reason I went to work every day. I was treated well and made lifelong friends.

“Just before Homestake closed, Ray Davis’s wife and some other folks came to visit, and I got the chance to visit with them. I didn’t know who she was at first. Come to find out, it was about the neutrino research. What got me was how gracious these ladies were; they just sat and talked to me.”

Coming back

“It was 2008, and I was just looking for a job. And you know, you seem to turn back to what you know. It was very interesting, but nothing was the same anymore. I was a maintenance mechanic, and SURF needed a maintenance person. The first person I ran into was Dr. Jose Alonso, who was the lab director. He was passionate about the project—you could hear in his voice. At the time, there weren’t a lot of people around and he would stop and talk to us a lot about what was going on.

“One question that kept coming up for me was, ‘what’s all this good for?’ Dr. Alonso would explain things and put it into a language I could understand. Before that, I didn’t have an interest in science. But hearing that passion and dedication made me think differently. We didn’t know what the outcome would be, but I knew it would be big.”

First things first

“I remember stepping into the Yates Headframe when I came back. It was absolutely quiet. You could hear the pigeons. When Homestake was running, you couldn’t imagine the noise. When the crushers were running, the whole building was shaking. At that time, the entry in the Yates Shaft hadn’t happened.

“First thing we had to do to get science going was get the Yates Hoist running again. It was about 15 degrees in there—there was no heat because the boilers were shut down. We had the hoists up and running within a couple of weeks. It wasn’t Homestake anymore—that became very clear. We didn’t have everything we needed at our fingertips, so we had to be resourceful. There were legacy items that got put back into use. We made things work.

“From then to now, the transformation is incredible. The teamwork it took. These guys are putting their heart and soul into it. I’m a small part of big puzzle.”

Return to the 4850L

“My first impression was that it smelled the same. Strange, I know. All of the infrastructure was still there but no workers. All the power had been disconnected so there wasn’t any light except what you were carrying. I suppose you could say it was eerie. Totally quiet.

“I met Ray Davis once while I was working at Homestake, but I didn’t really understand what he was doing. Before the equipment was removed in the early days of SURF, I did get to go into the chamber. Getting to see the mystical experiment that had been hidden away all these years was exciting. What I had been told years before started to make some sense, but I expected something different.” 

Something big this way comes

“The moon landing was surreal. We had our own little world here and had now been exposed to this landmark event. It was a story seen on a ‘new’ color TV. It was like watching a movie plot unfold. There was no way we understood the full weight of that remarkable accomplishment. I guess you could say we were leading a sheltered life.

“Working at SURF, it dawned on me that what the researchers are doing is not tangible to me, but I started to understand it’s a lot like the space program. I remember hearing about the space program, listening to President Kennedy talk about putting a man on the moon. What was the good of doing that? We proved we could do it but now I know it’s about more than that. It’s not so much that we put a man on the moon, it’s what came out of it.

“Go into your kitchen, sit down at your table and look around at everything in your kitchen. What didn’t come out of the space program? Non-stick pans, digital clocks, all sorts of things. So, what’s the science good for? I don’t know yet, but I know it will be big. I don’t know if I will see the benefits of this or even if my kids will, but I think my grandkids will. We’re in the middle of something big, and I can say I was in on the ground floor. What could be cooler than that?”

That’s the world according to Duane.

The next chapter

Dan Regan, surface operations foreman, said Ennis’s return to his old stomping grounds was instrumental in getting the Sanford Lab up and running.

“He is and has been such a great partner on this team. At the startup of Sanford Lab, Duane assisted in getting the hoists running, then on to the Water Treatment Plant to get it up and running and finally on to his true field of expertise—mobile equipment and transportation."

On June 5, Ennis will say good-bye to one chapter of his life, but he won’t close the book on it just yet.

“What are we going to do this summer? I don’t know. I feel like I’m all dressed up and no place to go. But I do have a honey-do list as long as my arm,” Ennis said smiling.  

“I’m going to miss it. Mostly, the people—hands down. After Homestake closed I said goodbye to a lot of people. It was great to be able to come back and work with some of them again.”

"And Ennis will be missed, Regan said.

“I know of nobody who is as skilled or as knowledgeable as he in the mechanical equipment field. When he is stumped, he will investigate, ask questions and research all methods to learn. And what is really impressive is that he retains information like a computer. He is amazing!”

And Ennis intends to follow SURF’s progress as well.

“If science marches forward as I believe it will, it’s going to be incredible. I hope I’m alive to see some of it.”