Lockmaster Jay Grimsled

By Caroline Rosacker

The United States Army Corps of Engineers recently hired Jay Grimsled as Lockmaster of Lock and Dam 10 in Guttenberg.  He has replaced Sam Mathiowetz, who held the position from 2015-2023. 

Jay is from Seneca, Wis., and has worked for the lock and dam system for the past 31 years, beginning his career as a laborer. 

Jay and his wife, Kristy, have three sons, Tyler, Ethan and Jared, and two grandchildren. Although he resides outside of the area, he really enjoys Guttenberg. "I really like the community, and have enjoyed getting acquainted with the residents," commented Jay. "I had an opportunity to meet a lot of people at the Lock and Dam open house held during GermanFest, which was great." 

Previous Lockmasters at Lock and Dam 10 were Earl Tinkey - 1936-1939; Pearl Walker - 1939-1955; Vyrle Abbott - 1955-1968; Burnell Reinitz - 1968-1986; Marvin Pedretti - 1986-1995; Bill Wolfe - 1995-1998; Darrell Oldenberg - 1998-2000; Marvin Althoff - 2000-2015; Sam Mathiowetz - 2015- 2023, and Grimsled, who is the tenth person to hold the position. "In every job there is always an opportunity for learning," Jay noted. "I am getting a lot of help from the crew, and appreciate their assistance. I haven't experienced a day where I wished I would have stayed where I was at – so that's a good sign." 

Jay served in the United States Army stationed in Germany as a military police officer from 1987-1990. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting deer in the fall, and reloading his own ammunition shells. He is an avid reader, enjoying history, and is a war and military buff. "Guttenberg is a beautiful community, very clean, and the people are friendly," he concluded.