Published: April 17, 2009 10:53 pm      

Beating the odds: Johnstown native returns home after Sin City career

When Elmer Auckerman finished 10th grade at what then was Garfield Junior High School, he quit attending classes and left town to attend

a trade school in New Castle, Lawrence County, where he learned all phases of engine mechanics.

Auckerman, who now is 62, then found a job at a Mobil gasoline station in New Castle.

Next, he became a professional window washer, working up and down the East Coast for several years.

In 1978, he went to Las Vegas, a journey that changed the course of his life.

On arrival in Las Vegas, Auckerman took a job at McCarran International Airport doing janitorial work. He stayed at the airport for several months before accepting the same type of work at University Medical Center in the gambling mecca. While at the medical center, he went to a community college, receiving an associate degree in business.

His three years of college study was paid for by the medical center, Auckerman said.

When he returned to the medical center, it was as a supervisor in the housekeeping department. He then was promoted to the department’s assistant director, having responsibility for 250 employees, he said. He held the job for more than six years.

“I enjoyed working with the people, and I enjoyed the prestige the job gave me,” Auckerman said.

It was in 1993 that he started his own business in Las Vegas, United House Cleaning. He and a friend, Vannette Silva, cleaned homes from top to bottom, mainly in Sun City, a community open to those 55 and older.

“We had more than 100 customers, worked five days a week and were busy all year around,” he said.

He and Silva, a native of Hawaii, were married in 1999.

In 2004, the Auckermans sold their housecleaning business. Auckerman returned to Johnstown with his wife that year, and the couple took up residence on Frank Street in the West End, the part of town where he was reared. He grew up on Mountain Road.

Auckerman’s marriage to the former Vannette Silva is his third.

Before going to Las Vegas, he and the former Marilyn Brown of New Castle had a marriage that lasted seven years and produced two children. Those children are 39-year-old Karin, who resides in Seward, and 38-year-old Todd of Las Vegas. Both are married.

After going to Las Vegas, Auckerman and the former Christina Winston of Idaho, who also worked at University Medical Center, were married in 1988 and divorced in 1992.

While in Las Vegas, Auckerman said he met a number of show business luminaries ­such as Telly Savalas, Redd Fox, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Orlando, Janet Jackson and Paul Anka.

When he went to the casinos, he confined his gambling to slot machines and video poker machines, he said.

He enjoyed the lights at night.

“You thought you were in a dream world,” he said.

After coming back to Johnstown, he took a job with Latrobe Window Cleaning Co. and was assigned to Reliant Power Plant at Seward, where he worked until he was injured while operating a floor buffer.

After having shoulder surgery, he retired last year.

Auckerman expressed appreciation to Latrobe Window Cleaning for giving him a job at the power plant.

“I always wanted to work there ever since I saw the plant’s big towers when I was a kid,” he said.

In November, he became a Senior Community Service Employment trainee at The Atrium in downtown Johnstown. He is an activity aide there, with his training to conclude in the fall.

Vanette Auckerman is employed at the Coffee Bean in Memorial Medical Center.

While he enjoyed his years in Las Vegas, Auckerman is glad to be back home.

“I love the West End,” he said, although adding that he would like to see dilapidated buildings there torn down, especially those on Fairfield Avenue.

At home, he enjoys playing with the family dogs – Princess, Jake, Missy and Bear.

Auckerman has an extensive collection of salt and pepper shakers, including ones from Germany, Russia, Jerusalem and the Philippines. He estimated his collection numbers at more than 300.

The Auckermans are planning a trip to Hawaii later this year to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.

He’s glad to be back in Johnstown.

“The pace is slower, but I like the four seasons,” he said.